Since the first day of school several of my professors have constantly brought up “the TRC”. Everybody seemed to know what they were talking about. Coming from Indonesia, I had not heard of “the TRC” and I was so confused (and afraid to ask). So, when I got back to my room I went on Google to check out what it is and I am so glad I did that. It made me feel much more interested to look at the exhibition and find out more about what it was like for the Indians not too long ago. To give off a brief summary, until 1991 Aboriginal children were forced to go to residential schools set up by the Canadian government to conform to the majority culture. They were forced to forget their origins and be westernized. I decided to go to the exhibition in the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. After going to the exhibition, I realized that it is so much more emotional and has a much greater impact to actually see the artwork of victims of this tragedy.

Overall, the exhibition consists of art works of many artists expressing their horrific memories. Gina Lowing was one of the artists that kept me coming back to her paintings. Her paintings were detailed enough for the viewer to see flashes of what she had experienced in the Regina Indian Residential School. I find it very brave of her to be able to paint her experiences of sexual abuse rather than trying to forget it. The way she portrays her artwork was also interesting to me. She really tried to make her artwork as realistic as possible by showing her full perspective as a child. Her artwork seemed like it was for a comic strip or it was animated. Which is what most children look at or how most children draw.

Another artist I found interesting was Gina Laing. Similar to Gina Lowing, she was sexually abused and painted many pictures of her abuser. Gina Laing also had a lot of eyes drawn onto her paintings. It represents her feeling of constantly being watched and made sure she is conforming to her new culture. It goes to show that anything she does to remind herself of her origins, someone will know and she will be punished. I believe that the drawing of the many eyes also gives off a message of how she is seen today. She could feel as if she is looked at differently when people know what she has been through.

This dreadful past is something we need to learn from. Personally, it really made me reflect on my Indonesian morals and beliefs. I have realized that I should appreciate the opportunity of having a western education but still stick to my roots. It reminded myself that I should be proud of who I am and I shouldn’t have to conform to the majority to fit in. I have the ability to do that, whereas many people, like the artists in this exhibition, did not have that option.