gina adams

Gina Adams - contemporary hybrid artist

Gina Adams is an artist and activist. Her main and most prominent body of work are her Broken Treaty Quilts. These pieces are made of unidentified, vintage quilts she finds. The quilts can be documents in and of themselves; the patterns, materials, and even the stains of the quilts show the unique histories of each. Adams then cuts out letters that details the treaties signed between different indigenous groups and the United States. These signed treaties were nothing more than broken promises; a treaty describes, "truth, friendship, honor," but none actually were. 

Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868 (front)

Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868 (back)

Adams' art focuses on what it means to be a person with inherited trauma. Through her art she wishes to bring awareness, educate people, and have deeper conversations about history. She wants to make people think, and ultimately inspire change. 

Listening to her artist talk it is extremely evident how much time and heart she puts into all her pieces. She described how she was cutting out letters for the Broken Treaty Quilts for nine months! She also hand wrote all the names of the treaty signers. The Broken Treaty Quilts became more than just an installation art piece, but a performance one as well. Adams would read the treaties aloud, as the quilts were on display. The performance piece is a greatly important part of the process, and can perhaps give greater understanding. 

Its Honor is Hereby Pledged: Broken Treaty Quilts (June 26-July 22, 2018 - Jaffe Friede Gallery at Dartmouth College)

McLuhan says, "our time is for crossing barriers, for erasing old categories—for probing around" (10). Adams is crossing barriers and creating new and unique artwork. However, she is not trying to erase the old but bring awareness to the injustices of the past through her work, her Broken Treaty Quilts in particular.