Talking Tintype, Swil Kanim, Violinist, Citizen of the Lummi Nation, from the series Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange: dᶻidᶻəlalič
2017, printed 2019
Using the 19th-century tintype process, Diné photographer Will Wilson invites the sitter to share authority in the production of portrait images. With his Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange (CIPX) project, Wilson captures reservation-based and urban Natives who have created inclusive communities in our cities. Wilson gifts his tintypes—some of which “come to life” using a special app—to his sitters and retains the digital copies for large-scale prints. Wilson staged CIPX in Seattle (dᶻidᶻəlalič), documenting individuals as they see and refer to themselves. Here, legendary violinist and performance artist Richard Marshall (Swil Kanim) plays his own moving composition of “Ten Little Indians,” reminding us that this seemingly benign children’s song is about the genocide of Native People.
Archival pigment print from wet plate collodion scan, black and white video with sound
56 1/4 x 44 1/4 in. (142.9 x 112.4 cm)
video: 2 min, 51 sec.
Ancient and Native American Art Acquisition Fund
2019.26.1
Provenance: The artist; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2019
Photo: Elizabeth Mann