Unbroken Fragments: A Story of Returning to Ourselves

“In 2010, Sam Shaw (age 5) and I had our first collaboration. It was called Bedtime Stories Revisited and showed in the Marvin Embree Gallery just a few steps from where we are today. This would begin years of collaborating on a multitude of exhibits, writing and growth. Collaborating with Samuel when he was young, helped shape how I wanted to parent him. I have sought to create space for him and to honor his unique view of the world. He has a strong voice and I hope to empower it. Today Sam is 18 and we have our final collaboration in the place where it all started.

Samuel has always played a vital role in my life as an artist. He is a collaborator, trusted critic, advisor and always the first set of eyes to see anything I have made the past 18 years. He knows me and my work better than anyone and I have found his input invaluable.

I am grateful for the gift of art and art-making in my life and in Samuel’s as well. These collaborations have given us a space to explore externally what might otherwise only be an internal conversation. As we have both grown, our conversations have deepened and often circle back to our Chickasaw heritage. Like many native folks today, we have longings, pain, feelings of separation and exile and lots of questions. What does it mean for us to be Chickasaw today? How do we live with this sense of being in two worlds? Can we embody things that the dominant culture tried to eradicate? And how can we honor our ancestors with how we live today? These conversations have been a gift to me and I hope they will serve Samuel as well. “

This body of work is a window in to the multitude of conversations and experiences Samuel and I have shared over the years. It’s a glimpse into the difficult but good work of understanding what it means for us to embody our American Indian heritage. It’s a remembrance of what our ancestors endured. It is a story of returning to ourselves. It is a declaration. We are still here!”

Erin Shaw is a painter of borderlands, the spaces between worlds. As a visual storyteller, the child of an Oklahoma farm, Shaw tills the rich soil of dichotomy through her masterful uses of color, iconography, and story. As a Chickasaw-Choctaw artist, she creates in a state of tension, suspended between two worlds where both solemnity and humor pervade her art. She finds that truths are revealed in unanticipated ways, and trickster often appears throughout her work. The artist earned her BFA in studio art from Baylor University and her MFA from the University of Oklahoma. She has over 25 years of educational experience is an international speaker, and a featured artist in Visual Voices: Contemporary Chickasaw Art, among other exhibits in the U.S.

Sam Shaw is a senior in high school with a passion for baseball, comedy, and engaging in meaningful conversations. Wise beyond his years, he thrives on asking big philosophical questions and exploring creative ideas. As a co-creator of this exhibition, he brings a deep commitment to honoring his Native American heritage, reflecting on the resilience and survival of Native identity despite immense historical loss. With a talent for conceptual thinking and artistic expression, he aims to make the most of his life and abilities while staying connected to his roots. He plans to continue his journey in college next fall.