The artwork, titled “Bête Noire,” was created by Kent Monkman in 2014. Executed using mixed media, it is part of the Postcolonial art movement and falls under the installation genre.
The artwork features a dramatic and evocative scene set against a panoramic painted backdrop of a vast, open landscape with mountains and a body of water. A figure, adorned with a traditional headdress and seated on a motorcycle, commands attention in the foreground. Surrounding this central figure are various elements, including arrows piercing a stylized depiction of a large bison, suggestive of themes related to indigenous identity and cultural tension. The installation brings together historical and contemporary motifs, provoking a dialogue about the intersection of tradition and modernity.
