- City
- Yellowknife
- Booth
- Nathan Phillips Square
Booth 529
John Sabourin
John Sabourin was born in Liidlii Kue, Northwest Territories. He became interested in painting in 1989 and carving in 1995, but it was not until his graduation from the Victoria College of Art, Victoria, British Columbia in 1999 that he decided to devote himself full-time to art.
John’s carvings explore the complex relationship between humans and nature. He embraces the possibilities for reimagining motifs from the Decho Dene stories and legends he heard in his youth in stone. John is believes that stone can carry stories into the future and the stone itself offers new opportunities for making meaning. He enjoys playing with what appears like paradox, that a stone can create movement. The possibility for transformation is one of the themes that intrigues him the most. He believes that both art and the natural world can bring release from suffering and difficulty.
John lives this belief on a personal level. When he carves stone, he feels energized which paradoxically brings a calm focus and balance to being in the world. He loves to feel like he is totally in control of the creative process, while at the same time he lives with the awareness that the stone has other ideas, and he has to respond! John thoroughly enjoys the presumption and humility that comes with creating a sculpture. The process belongs to him and to the stone, but when he's finished, the piece no longer belongs to him. What other people see in the carving and how they connect with it and beyond, is their interpretation and therefore their story to tell.
John has sold carvings to private collectors in Canada and the United States, and is especially proud to have one in the Canadian Embassy in the United Kingdom! John has been honoured with many awards, over the years, including the Hnatyshyn Foundation Indigenous Art Award.
