Natalie King's Euphoric Dreamscapes

Thick braids and locks of loose hair tumble down the brightly painted canvases of Natalie King’s works. Shocks of black burst in contrast to the greens, pinks, oranges, and blues that coat the background of her paintings. The bold use of colour is something King has become known for, alongside the consistency of including Indigenous women and 2Spirit people in her paintings. These figures are always displayed in acts of love and embrace, accentuated by the joyous colours that invite viewers closer into the work.

In King’s own words, “The bold, vibrant colors underscore themes of empowerment and resilience in the face of colonialism and erasure. To me, this piece celebrates the collective strength of Indigenous peoples, particularly 2SLGBTQ+, in reclaiming cultural practices, language, and land.”¹ Though referring specifically to tapestry of strength (2023), one of seven works by King selected for acquisition by the Doris McCarthy Gallery, this statement could describe most of her acrylic paintings.

tapestry of strength (2023) celebrates the collective strength of Indigenous peoples through the reclamation of cultural practices and the shared connectivity to each other through land. The work finds seven figures blooming out of grass and flowers, one holding a sweetgrass braid high above her head. The figures each don a pair of beaded earrings—we understand them to be in kinship with each other and with the natural landscapes surrounding them. This unity between body and land is poignant in King’s paintings and can be found in many of her works.

reflections of nibi (2022), nibi being the Anishinaabe word for water, is the only piece in the acquisition that features water, not land or sky. In this work we see King create a metaphysical relationship between the individual and the elemental. There is no difference between the central figure, crowned by their thick hair while looking directly out at the viewer, and the water that engulfs the canvas and their body. The figure’s arms create a cradle to nestle the water, as simultaneously, the ripples wrap them up. This sacred responsibility—care of water as it cares for us—speaks to Anishinaabe cosmologies, which often see water as tied to healing, transformation, and the role of women as water protectors. The piece also brings up a sensuousness between body and water, adding an interesting element of intimacy.

In many of King’s paintings, broad and expansive brush strokes paint a familiarity and closeness between the figures and the onlooker, as they look directly at one another. The warm cherubic cheeks and plump lips of King’s figures, often clad in makeup and bright clothing, create something alluring, almost sumptuous, beckoning the viewer to lean in closer towards the work and eat up all it has to offer. The intimacy produced is both sensual and tantalizing, yet comfortable and inviting, like a suggestive embrace from a decades-long lover.

King’s paintings are not provocative, yet there is a clear passion displayed amongst the figures, towards each other and outwardly. In both legacies of love (2023) and earths daughters (2023), celebrations of queer and 2S love are thematically clear to the viewer. In legacies of love (2023) we see an Anishinaabekwe central figure holding a young child surrounded by Anishinaabekwes and 2Spirit people, their hands laying across her celestial body made of stars and the night sky. The comfort they have with her conveys a deep-rooted understanding and care that is shared amongst them all. While not platonic, it is not overtly telling what their relationships are with each other. Maybe it is an intimacy that is otherworldly, dipping into the teachings of star people King so often incorporates into her pieces.

In an interview with DMG’s Interim Curator Erin Szikora, King states “My work is motivated by a firm commitment to embracing and portraying 2S and queer Indigenous livelihood…. For me, a big part of the idea is that these bodies [in my paintings] are full, they’re taken care of, they’re taking care of each other, they’re existing together in harmony…. They get to choose their family structures, and they have these rich, fruitful lives.”²

earths daughters (2023) roots the inherent connection found in many Indigenous cultures between women, 2S people, and the earth. As King writes, “in this piece I wanted to honour the daughters—the women who nurture both the land and future generations.”³ Much like in legacies of love, this piece finds several femme figures embracing each other, entwined in a border made of their hair which twists together their braids and tresses. Their bodies mimic this organic attachment they have: limbs, shoulders, and hands overlap as they lean into each other, all while staring directly out at the viewer. The beings, the daughters, make up the earth yet they are also stewards of it. Care and love are once again emphasized by the intimacy and sensuousness of the figures King creates. Care for the earth and care for one another are directly tied.

rooted radiance (2023) sees a similar connection between land, body, and the foundation of cultural practices. In rooted radiance the viewer is again shown this direct link as the central character makes up the land, basking in their heart’s warmth that beams out from the middle of the canvas. The addition of the word radiance in the title references both the internal glow of Indigenous land-body connectivity, but also the joy King locates in all her paintings. In her own words, “the contrast between root systems and radiant light is a metaphor for how Anishinaabeg is built upon foundational knowledge, while still evolving and shining brightly into the future.”⁴

Though King is a multidisciplinary artist, working in video, installation, and painting as well as having a curatorial practice, the works selected to join the collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto are all acrylic and aerosol, or acrylic and ink paintings. The selected works have been titled the Mino-Bimaadiziwin Series, the Anishinaabemowin phrase that translates to "a good life.” This term is a grounding principle for many Anishinaabeg, invoking balance through community and walking gently on the earth together.

King brings Anishinaabe teachings and language consistently into her work as a means of identifying the urgency of language revitalization and cultural continuance. King’s paternal grandfather was an Anishinaabemowin language speaker and learnt many other Anishinaabe languages during his life. However, as she has shared in discussing this series, her father was discouraged from learning the language and within three generations it has been lost within her family.⁵

The importance of Anishinaabeg culture, spirituality, and protocols are all embedded deeply in King’s practice and are definitely found within all the works in the acquisition. circle of relations (2023) and ribboned reverie (2023) both tie directly into this importance of cultural and linguistic continuance, as well as sovereignty for Indigenous peoples.

The circle is a deeply meaningful symbol within Anishinaabeg cultures as it represents wholeness and the cyclical nature of life. In King’s circle of relations (2023), the shape speaks to an interconnectedness and holistic approach to community. The three figures in the painting—each cupping a bright star between their hands, their bodies looping around the canvas—speak to this connectivity as they move around and through each other with care. The reciprocal nature amongst these beings brings about a clear understanding of their relationship to each other, and the relationship amongst Anishinaabeg since time immemorial, to exist and coexist in a sustainable and mindful way.

These dream-like scenes that King creates with her paintings show an ethereal quality to her vision and point of view. Her paintings are joyful and bright, sensual and pleasurable, but also deeply poignant. Though potentially not creating what some may expect “Indigenous Art” to look like, her identity as a queer Anishinaabeg Kwe grounds each piece, as she displays a clear understanding of herself in every painting.

Her painting ribboned reverie (2023) evokes the essence of what King’s creations do best. Using the visual motif of ribbons, highlighting ceremonial regalia and practice, King’s approach to visual storytelling embodies a lived-in love and deep connection to her community and her own identity. King sees the ribbons as symbols of fluidity, queerness, and the self determination of 2Spirit sacredness. As the central figure lifts her arms above her head forming a heart shape, we are invited to consider the deep interconnection between queerness and decolonization. It’s a love that comes from knowing yourself truly and the ways in which you have always existed. Reverie is the joy of intergenerational dreaming, reflecting on how far we have come and what lies ahead of us.

King’s paintings take us on a journey of love, culture, language, and land. She finds ways to root each work in a narrative of joy and celebration, deepening the relation between our corporeal realities and the ever-expanding world of land, waters, and skies. King’s work offers to the viewer the very best of what loving oneself, loving all of one’s Indigenousness, one’s gender, and one’s queerness, can do for the community around you. It is a pleasure to travel through these seven acquired works of King’s, and to see them all together, smiling out at the viewer, beckoning us closer in.