Cannupa Hanska Luger

Cannupa Hanska Luger is a multidisciplinary artist in New Mexico known for his monumental installations, sculptures, and performances addressing 21st-century Indigeneity. Born on the Standing Rock Reservation and an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold and is Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Lakota, Luger uses ceramics, steel, fibre, video, and repurposed materials to create works that engage with speculative fiction, land-based actions, and social collaboration.

Lugar created this skeletal sculpture that draws attention to how the loss of animal species, particularly bison, has impacted North American communities and the environment over the past 150 years. The bison is a symbol of Indigenous resilience and sovereignty. The sculpture will shed light on the environmental impact of the near extinction of bison. It will acknowledge how European settlers closely removed this vital source of food, shelter, clothing and spiritual reverence for the Great Plains Native Americans and forced their assimilation into Western culture.

'Attrition' invites people to view and think about the artwork in their own ways. This open discussion is meant to inspire people to work together for a more sustainable and equitable world. By weaving historical stories with current issues, 'Attrition' is a catalyst to deepen our understanding of how we should care for the environment, respect Indigenous land histories, and view ourselves as part of the land rather than its owners.

The journey to completing this installation was possible through countless interactions with the client and artist teams. We received digital files which we were able to refine for printing. With the guidance of Luger, we patinated the work to be a dark blueish colour. This sculpture was fabricated in our Rock Tavern foundry. It weights 680-lb and is unique in material because it was cast in mild steel, a much more stable metal often used in gun manufacturing. Using PMMA prints, we poured the metal into shells and finished the artwork with a black/blue patina.

Attrition is curated by Public Art Fund Adjunct Curator Katerina Stathopoulou.