Photo of: Darnell Tapaquon and Amanda Prevost, a Manager at Wynyard Hospital / Photo supplied by Wynyard Hospital
On July 23rd the Wynyard Hospital unveiled a portrait they commissioned by Indigenous artist Darnell Tapaquon, a member of George Gordon First Nation.
“Darnell has chosen a beautiful art piece he painted titled ‘The Wind That Carries Our Prayers,’ so the painting really symbolizes hope, healing, strength and connection and we really felt this piece was especially meaningful for a healthcare setting because it serves as a reminder that healthcare is about more than just treating illness. It’s about caring for the whole person, the body, the mind, the emotions and the spirit. It really reflects that compassion and support and collective strength that exists within our healthcare teams and our communities,” said Melanie O’lynick the Director of Acute Care Health Networks with the Wynyard Hospital.
The painting will be on display at the front entrance of the Hospital.
“We hope to honour the history, culture and traditions of the local Indigenous communities while helping patients, families and staff and visitors all kind of feel a strong sense of belonging,” said O’lynick. “It really is an important opportunity to build and strengthen that meaningful relationship with our neighbouring First Nation communities and we’re just really proud to work together with Darnell on this initiative.”
Wynyard Hospital serves many surrounding First Nation communities.
“It was really great,” said Amanada Prevost, a Manager at Wynyard Hospital that attended the unveiling. “Darnell told us about life experiences that brought him to where he is today.”
After being raised in foster care and attending residential school, he got entangled in a life of crime and eventually ended up in secure custody by the age of 16 at the Paul Dojack Youth Centre.
“When I was in there, I saw a First Nation art calendar with the art of Isaac Bignell, and I was like this is exactly what I want to do,” said Tapaquon, “I started painting and drawing.”
One of the workers at the youth facility admired Tapaquon’s work and told him one day he would be famous.
Through the youth centre he met lots of people that supported him and purchased his paintings. Once released, he visited his father in Manitoba and met Leo ‘Sweetpea’ Neilson a well-known Ojibway artist from the Peguis First Nation.
“When I first met Sweetpea, that’s where my whole career just went out and made me travel,” said Tapaquon.
His art is known to be abstract and colourful.
“It’s a story about my life,” said Tapaquon. “It’s about bringing my characters in my art to life. My art comes from my heart.”
Tapaquon is thankful for how art brought so much to his life and said, “It made me meet a lot of great people in life and it’s brought me to know the Lord Jesus Christ my saviour and who keeps me clean.
He said he lives substance free now from drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.
“A lot of times when I paint, a lot of emotions come out and I think about all the things that God has done for me and how grateful I am of escaping things that happened to me in my life,” said Tapaquon. “Art is really moving and it moves the person into gears, channeling into the work so they can become a better person and grow within themselves.”