Dave Carty: "The Aberdeen Club Mural is an 8 feet by 16 feet rendition done by
the kids of the Aberdeen Boys and Girls Club. The Mural is painted on half inch
sign board by the kids of that club. The content of the Mural originates from the
wide use of children's hand prints found throughout the Boys and Girls Clubs of
Winnipeg's web site and promotional materials. As well the club had been
recently painted and at that point the kids were encouraged to add their own
hand print impressions on the exterior of the building."
"The demographic of this club is Indigenous children and I therefore concluded
that the use of children's hand prints on the mural itself would lend itself to a
lesson in Indigenous cultural history, that being rock art or pictographs.
Indigenous rock art or pictographs have a long illustrious history and are found in
many locations throughout Canada and North America. There are many sites on
Lake of the Woods in Ontario and a site on the Bloodvein River in Manitoba. The
pictographs were painted on rock faces usually close to water's edge done by
medicine men. The hand print symbol itself has various meanings historically but
all are spiritual in nature. Many Indigenous North American rock art sites have
been carbon dated to three to four thousand years in age."
"A session was spent with the kids involved discussing the culture significance of
this to their native origins in North America. Approximately fifteen kids
participated on the Mural project. Ten children provided hand prints using
tempera paint. The hand prints were then enlarged to various sizes. The
enlarged hand prints were then laid out and organized on the sign board panels
by the children. These prints were copied on to the sign board and the kids then
painted each hand print in a colour of their own selection."
