Nico Williams’ World of Beads

Nico Williams, Zhi-biindiged gwaya | Intrusion |Trespassing, 2022. Glass beads, plastic, metal, river rocks, dimensions variable. Indigenous Art Collection, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. © Nico Williams Photo: NGC

Artist Nico Williams is a member of the Aamjiwnaanag First Nation and is currently residing in Tiohtia:ke (Montreal, QC). His practice is often multidisciplinary and collaborative, and centres around sculptural beadwork. Speaking of his preference for this medium, he says, “I’m trying to bring the beauty of our culture out so people can celebrate it.” His works are included in the Gallery's exhibition Radical Stitch until the end of September, and his installation work Zhi-biindiged gwaya | Intrusion |Trespassing is on view in the Contemporary galleries. In a recent interview, Williams speaks about the process of creating Zhi-biindiged gwaya | Intrusion |Trespassing – and the deeper meaning that goes beyond the installation's beautiful (and shiny) appearance.

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Jocelyn Piirainen: How long have you been doing beadwork?
Nico WIlliams: I have been making beadwork for ten years. I remember my first beadwork was in my Grade 6 class. My substitute teacher came in and she brought bead looms for us and taught me how to make a work with a bead loom. I remember sitting there and making a bracelet for my mom. It felt so intimate, working with the material – there was a connection there. 

It was not until ten years ago, however, that I had this feeling that I had to work with beads. It has been such a long journey to get to where I am today, but that is the exciting thing about it. There has been a lot of experimentation. For one of my earliest pieces, I wanted to try making a quillbox; but before starting, I had to bead a surface, and I had to figure out how to make it. That work became Indian’s Frozen Computer.  I then found a traditional quillbox teacher in the Georgian Bay area, and she told me the story of how her family would come together and make quillboxes together. Some people would be harvesting, some would clean the quills, but all were part of this community that came together. So, I applied this idea to my studio.

Nico Williams, Indian's Frozen Computer, 2017. Glass beads, porcupine quills, 8.9 x 21.6 x 5 cm. Indigenous Art Collection, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. © Nico Williams Photo: Lawrence Cook

JP: What was your inspiration for Zhi-biindiged qwaya | Intrusion |Trespassing?
NW: I was on a trip to Ottawa, and I saw these "Canada" and "Quebec" chairs along the side of the road, on their way to the garbage. They stayed in my mind and, as I thought more about them on my way back to Montreal, I had that moment where I thought “there’s something here.”

Seeing those fold-out chairs and thinking about what the culture of being Canadian is to begin with, or even Quebecois, I tried to define what these chairs are. When you break it down, people will detach themselves from the city and go out onto Indigenous lands to camp and take up space. 

When I first showed this piece, our studio beaded "private land" signs, like those you find out in the bush. Walking through forests and parks, you notice people are buying our lands and putting up “private” signs and we lose access to them. That is when I decided to bead these folding chairs and the idea continued to develop.

Nico Williams, Zhi-biindiged gwaya | Intrusion |Trespassing, detail, 2022. © Nico Williams Photo: NGC

JP: What was the process of making them?
NW: I had the metal chair frames stripped down and made measurements using a string of beads to make a blank template from each frame. Then I created master templates on my computer, designing the Canada flag and then the American flag. For the design, I started to think about how the government went onto reserves, how they made it illegal to practice our ceremonies, our culture, and how they took away ceremonial items from us. These items were often made with floral or geometric beadwork and would be documented incorrectly, then placed in museum drawers and labelled as being by “anonymous” makers. That is when it really clicked for me: we would place these historical beadwork designs monochromatically into the background of these chairs, and, as a beadworker, I wanted to work with the most beautiful tones. I wanted to use beautiful shades of red, blue – and then a silver glass bead that would run through the whole work and connect it all. 

From the credits, you can see the number of people who worked on this installation. It was a year in the making: weaving one bead at a time to form these soft sculptures made of beautiful, shiny beads. They draw you in. The one thing I love about these chairs is people can take their meaning any way they want: you’ll have an American look at it one way; and then it’ll bring pride to a Quebecois person; or for some Canadians, it means “you go drink a beer out by the lake.” And that leads to asking questions, such as “What is the culture of these nations?” There is meaning to unload when you look at them.

Nico Williams, Zhi-biindiged qwaya | Intrusion | Trespassing, (detail), 2022. © Nico Williams Photo: NGC

JP: From a previous conversation, I remember you asking, “Who is looking at this work?”
NW: Exactly, and that is why I wanted the Great Lakes rocks from the territory laid out like a beaded medallion that we, as Indigenous peoples, wear on our chests. Medallions represent who we are, depending on the imagery that we put on them. It was important for me to have those Great Lakes rocks from the shorelines, since they represent the shorelines that are being taken away from us. The placement of the chairs in a circle, facing each other, is something I wanted, as they are excluding everybody from the conversation – including those who come to look at the work.

I had been really thinking about the question: “What is the culture of being Canadian?” It was illegal to practice what Indigenous peoples were doing, and then settlers were taking it away for archives – to be put into a dark drawer – and these works are still there. Often in art museums, Indigenous works will just be put on display without having asked for permission. With Trespassing, however, I am giving permission for people to look at it – especially, for communities to look at our work. I am trying to bring the beauty of our culture out, so people can celebrate it. I am excited to make these works, which share similar situations with the communities that surround us.

Nico Williams, Zhi-biindiged gwaya | Intrusion | Trespassing, (detail), 2022. © Nico Williams Photo: NGC

JP: You mentioned the monochromatic motifs. Can you tell us a bit more about them?
NW: These are the quillwork and beadwork motifs. I wanted to capture a representation of these motifs, because there is so much history in these designs, and they represent who we are. For example, if you are located in the Prairies, you are going to bead the flowers that surround you; or, if you are in the Great Lakes region, you are likely to bead the medicines into your work.

I wanted to include the motifs, but I also wanted to include other things that inspire me. I will literally bead objects that are in front of me – just like those chairs by the roadside. I am doing the same thing that our ancestors were doing when they were beading the flowers and medicines around them. It was very beautiful to include the quillwork and geometric work into the motifs, and fade in those monochromatic colours. I wanted to bring all of it together to represent our stories and the current realities that we are dealing with.

JP: What do you hope is the future of Indigenous beadwork?
NW: I am excited to see where we as Indigenous peoples can take beadwork. It has been a long process to get it to where it is today, and there are so many people who have come before us: our ancestors, the curators who have been fighting for us, and the artists who laid down the gravel roads. I want to see highways for our youth – I want them to be inspired, because they have to continue telling our stories. I am just so excited to see all the new work that they’re going to be doing.

Zhi-biindiged gwaya | Intrusion |Trespassing by Nico Williams is currently on view in Room B201 of the National Gallery of Canada. His works are also included in the exhibition Radical Stitch, on view until 30 September 2024. Share this article and subscribe to our newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest articles, Gallery exhibitions, news and events, and to learn more about art in Canada.​