Lot 46

Michelle Sound’s Auntie Braids is part of a larger body of work that explores adornment, kinship, and Indigenous material traditions. Drawing inspiration from beadwork and quillwork, the series evokes the histories of Indigenous aesthetics and the ways these practices express place, culture, and community. The photograph reflects the relationships cultivated in urban centres—often far from home territories—highlighting forms of kinship that endure on concrete land and within contemporary Indigenous life.

Sound is a Cree and Métis artist based in Vancouver. A member of Wapsewsipi Swan River First Nation in northern Alberta, she works across photography, textiles, painting, and Indigenous material practices to explore identity, family, place, and cultural inheritance. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University and a Master of Applied Arts from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Sound has exhibited across Canada, including the Polygon Gallery (Vancouver), Neutral Ground ARC (Regina), Daphne Art Centre (Montréal), and Gallery 101 (Ottawa). Her work is held in notable collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Forge Project Collection (New York), and the Burnaby Art Gallery. Recent public art commissions include street banners in New Westminster, murals in Ottawa and Edmonton, and a photographic installation at the Canadian Embassy in Paris.