Strong Unrelenting Spirits

April 5- May 25 2024

This current series of portraits are rooted in Ho-Chunk identity.  I am extending the boundaries of photography by incorporating beadwork directly onto the photograph. The use of Ho-Chunk floral and geometric designs is a metaphor for the spirits of our ancestors who are constantly looking over us. 

As a child, I went with my mother to see a Sioux medicine man on the Rosebud reservation.  We sat on the floor along the walls with many other people, when the lights were turned off the women started to sing.  They were asking for the spirits to come in, it was at this time that small orbs of light began to float around the room.  I have visually incorporated this experience through beadwork, in order to give a symbolic representation of our ancestors and to present the pride, strength and beauty of my people.  –Tom Jones