‘Entanglement’: ICW artwork is an offering of reflection

Multi-media creator and Indigenous Celebration Week (ICW) featured artist, Abigail Lee, met with The Gateway to discuss her piece for the university’s 2026 ICW, titled ‘Entanglement.’ 

“‘Entanglement’ is a huge word for me,” Lee said. “It comes from quantum entanglement — this idea that once two particles have made contact, they remain connected. Even across distance and time, no matter what, they are always affecting one another. What happens to one happens to the other, and it’s not static.” 

“For me, that’s what I felt the whole point of this piece was. Kinship, and passing down, womanhood and teachings — we are constantly entangled with each other. With everyday acts of life — making, learning, and healing. That’s where ‘entanglement’ came from.” The visual concept of entanglement is maintained in the piece, through the continuity of the ribbon and beaded thread, weaving culture and connection throughout the piece.

‘Entanglement’ blends Lee’s two heritages, Chinese and Indigenous. Red, being the central tone of the piece, bridges the two. In Chinese culture, red symbolizes luck, while in many Indigenous cultures red is known as the colour spirits can see. Having spent more time with her paternal Chinese side of the family growing up, Lee reconnected with her maternal ʔakisq̓nuk side through community and through her artwork. 

“Getting back to community is a learning lesson in and of itself — I’m constantly learning, not just from my mom, but also for my mom.”. Having art as an outlet to explore identities is important, Lee affirmed, to offer visual representation and celebration of all identities, cultures, and communities. 

An offering of connection

Lee began her artistic journey working with linoleum cut, familiarizing herself with lino print techniques before moving towards digital work. “That’s where my style stems from — that traditional, graphic, colour-blocked, easy-to-recognize visual language.” This is reflected in her piece for ICW, which carries the same artistic techniques. Lee’s personal style is an homage to traditional techniques influenced by linoleum, with a modern element through digitization. Through digital work, she developed tools that replicated the appearance of lino print, merging the two media forms and tailoring her artistic approach. 

She affirmed that her style continues to develop. “I’m still finding my art style … once I get there, hopefully I’ll know, but it’s kind of growing with me.“ 

“It was a way to bridge things that don’t often go together. Tradition and computers — the same way that I’m bridging my two cultures together. It’s a way for me to create a visual language that I didn’t get to see.” 

“I feel like a lot of art today is supposed to make a statement,” Lee said. “Through my art, the main thing I want to communicate is that it’s more of an offering. Rather than it just being an observation, I want there to be a relationship.”

“If you notice on the art piece, on all of the hands, there are different rings and bracelets, nail colours … for me, that was a way to show some of the things we’ve passed down within our families. I’m very fortunate to have some of the pieces that have been passed down from generations of women in my family. Each time, it’s like exchanged hands. There may be a dent in it, or a missing stone, or it’s bent as it’s passed down. That’s the relationship, that’s the kinship — there’s a kind of fingerprint left behind in everything we do.”

“In my artwork, I want people to find their own fingerprint,” she explained. “These things move through our lives, whether it be recipe cards, or languages, or a ring missing gems from gardening, it’s a reminder of everything before us. I want people to think about the continuity, not just of art but of other things in their own lives. That’s what my offering is — an offering of reflection.”

“[ICW] truly did a lot for me, in terms of making connections — not just with Indigenous Peoples, but with everyone,” Lee says

On ICW, Lee reflected on her first year at the University of Alberta, and what this week has meant to her, then and now. Coming from Calgary, she says she had encountered little Indigenous representation, compared to the community she has since found here on campus. She also experienced the difficulties faced in particular as a mixed Indigenous person. 

“I was always so afraid to talk to people about my heritage. With my last name being Lee, people would question if I was really Indigenous. But [ICW] truly did a lot for me, in terms of making connections — not just with Indigenous Peoples, but with everyone. It really propelled me forward in what I wanted to do.” 

In growing community connections, Lee was encouraged to take Native studies courses in the following years, and pursued the Indigenous Governance and Partnership certificate. “It completely changed the trajectory of my life,” Lee said. “The opportunities and learning I got out of it, and what I was able to give back to my community.” She credits Matthew Wildcat, with his relationality lab especially, in having guided her professional and personal development, which she says continues to inform everything in her life including this piece. 

This summer, Lee will be updating her website with new beadwork pieces. She’s previously worked with Calgarian alt-pop musician Micah Sage. Sage and Lee are currently working on a project together, details of which are currently secret.