Untitled (Snake)

An iconic figure of the Woodlands school, Osaawaabiko-binesi – Norval Morrisseau (whose spirit name means Copper Thunderbird in Anishinaabemowin) here depicted a horned serpent. The medicine man and artist was permitted by his community to render this symbol of medicine and healing power recognized throughout the Great Lakes region. Drawing on creation stories of the world and pushing the boundaries of formal experimentation, Morrisseau used an x-ray style to underscore the interdependence between the living beings surrounding the horned serpent and the inner light contained in the latter.