In Anishinaabe oral tradition, the great crane Ajijaak appeared during a time of unrest and disharmony among the people. Seeing their disconnection, Ajijaak descended from the sky to teach them the gift of dance. Through movement, the people rediscovered balance, peace, and community. The echo of that teaching continues through ceremony and story today. We Move Together seeks to embody the power of movement and dance as a form of expression and healing. It mirrors the symbolic act of the crane’s dance through the interplay of reflection, sound, and light.
During the day, We Move Together appears as a large, mirrored crane, reflecting the natural sunlight, a stunning representation of the great crane Ajijaak. When night falls, We Move Together awakens into a vibrant display of colour and reflection. Its internal light source reverses the reflective two-way mirroring, revealing the inner workings of the sculpture—an array of reflective surfaces, each with its own colouration and influence on the light. Portions of the internal structure gently move, causing the reflected light to shift and evolve, creating a dynamic interplay of illumination and motion.
By merging the visual language of contemporary dance floors and mirrored spheres with the sacred imagery of Ajijaak, We Move Together invites reflection on how tradition and modernity continue to move in tandem—how both can illuminate our shared rhythms and restore a sense of harmony between body, story, and light.
Artists
Tyler Burey
Tyler Burey is a multidisciplinary queer Indigenous artist from Northern Ontario, currently living and working in Toronto, Ontario. A graduate of OCAD University, his practice explores themes of queer identity, intimacy, and the queer body, alongside an evolving connection to his Indigenous heritage.
Tyler uses his art to navigate the complexity of queer life and the layered experience of finding belonging within a newly discovered community.
Through sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, and photography, he seeks to create meaningful representation — for himself, and for the broader queer Indigenous community he continues to grow into. Working with materials such as acrylic, beadwork, paint, and light. Tyler’s work merges vulnerability and resilience, often blurring the line between celebration and survival. His multidisciplinary approach invites viewers into spaces of reflection, transformation, and personal myth-making — where identity becomes both question and answer.
