In her first museum solo exhibition, Hamilton-based artist Alex Jacobs-Blum (Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ/ German) uses photography and video to explore themes of continuity and legacy embedded in the ancestral knowledge within her body.

As part of her artmaking process, Jacobs-Blum immerses herself in Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) homelands, situated around one of the Finger Lakes in present-day upstate New York. There, she embodies Hodinöhsö:ni’ women across generations, connecting deeply with Creation. By documenting her presence in the landscape, she navigates historical narratives, displacement, responsibility, and the shaping of new futures.

On a journey of reclamation rooted in resilience, she confronts the intergenerational impact of displacement and trauma, exploring how to grieve in a way that honours healing and renewal.

“From the depths of my body, the cosmos unfurl—starlight courses through veins held by ancestral presence from within. Our bodies, formed from clay and moonlight, exist as celestial entities in a cycle of (re)awakening. My journey intertwines with that of my Ancestors, traversing across time and space, feeling their resonance on Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ homelands.​

My soul is a traveller of many lifetimes. I greet myself back at the beginning of my journey, but stronger. Embodied echoes of knowledge stir from within, returning to my medicines.

As the Ancestors bear witness, we shed collective tears born from generations of grief and loss. The land they once nurtured has been uprooted and laid to waste, leaving our spirits shattered and our languages silenced—yet—like the moon orbiting the Earth, we continue. The tides ebb and flow within feminine bodies, ensuring continuous rebirth and regeneration.”