Sky Hopinka Presents Indigenous Landscape Installation at Barnes Foundation

Sky Hopinka, a multidisciplinary artist from the Ho-Chunk Nation and Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, has unveiled a new site-specific installation titled 'Red Metal Dust' at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. The exhibition, which opened in 2026 and runs through January 2027, features 11 panels that combine landscape photography with copper sheets. Hopinka spent approximately 18 months traveling across the United States to capture images for this project, photographing locations including Arizona, Washington state, Oklahoma's Tulsa and Tahlequah, and views from Amtrak trains and aerial flights. The installation's title derives from the Ho-Chunk word 'mąąsšuc,' meaning 'red metal,' with 'dust' referencing Indigenous creation stories about human origins. Hopinka describes copper as having deep cultural significance for many Native tribes and views the material as a living element that changes through oxidation and interaction with viewers' presence. The photographs, shot on both medium format and 35mm film, incorporate transparency overlays that reference his earlier 2019 series 'The Land Describes Itself.' One work, 'Untitled 11,' features figures walking away from the camera on a reservation, engaging with historical tropes of Indigenous representation. While acknowledging Philadelphia's historical significance as a founding site of the United States, Hopinka emphasizes that his work focuses on Indigenous perspectives and the continuum of Native presence rather than responding directly to American national narratives. The artist hopes the installation will generate diverse interpretations from visitors of various backgrounds, viewing the work as part of ongoing conversations about landscape, memory, and Indigenous experience.