The Wisdom of the Universe 4 Favorite 

The Wisdom of the Universe was painted in 2014 by Métis artist, author, and activist Christi Belcourt. Based in Northeastern Ontario, Belcourt is best known for her large-scale acrylic paintings — like this one — that use hundreds of thousands of tiny dots to simulate Métis beadwork. At the Art Gallery of Ontario, where The Wisdom of the Universe lives, the painting has become a popular sight. In fact, it was voted visitors’ Number 1 favourite artwork from the museum’s collection.

Against a midnight black background, the painting shows a thicket of plant life, stretching in every direction. All the different leaves, fruits and flowers seem to grow from the same magical stalk, while a variety of birds and insects nestle into its branches and nooks. Some of the plants and animals you’ll spot are common, like the robins, sumac and cedar, while others may appear less familiar, such as the Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid, the Cerulean Warbler or the Karner blue butterflies fluttering at the centre.

Roughly 6 feet tall and 9 feet wide, the painting is huge, pulling the viewer into its scene. The image also has a strong sense of symmetry and appears mirrored along its centreline. If you look carefully, however, you’ll find moments — like the caterpillars crawling here and there — where the pattern has been playfully disrupted. Look even closer and you’ll notice the thousands and thousands of tiny dots that compose the scene. Belcourt makes each mark by dipping the end of a knitting needle in paint, then pressing it to the canvas, arranging the dots in precise patterns to look like beadwork.

It all began with a pair of mukluks. Known as the “flower beadwork people,” the Métis are renowned for their intricate and colourful floral patterns made from glass seed beads, which they use to turn items like clothing, shoes, and bags into objects of beauty. Their designs often emphasize symmetry, balance, and harmony. In many ways, it was a pair of beaded mukluks, which hung on Belcourt’s wall because they were too big, that had the biggest impact on her unique visual style. When, one day, she decided to try and paint the boots’ floral pattern, the artist learned two important lessons: First, she didn’t know enough about the plants to paint them, and second, she didn’t know enough about beadwork to paint it either.

These realizations began a lifelong journey to learn about the artistic legacy of her culture, as well as the natural world around her. “Every plant I came across, I looked at it in detail,” Belcourt says, “I spoke to it, I asked it: ‘How did you grow like that?’ My love for plants deepened further and further, and I began to understand what people meant when they said ‘we are all connected...It has to do with our identity, it has to do with our understanding of our place in the world, it has to do with our languages, it has to do with our culture. So bead work is just a reflection of who we are as a people. It has to do with our identity, it has to do with our understanding of our place in the world, it has to do with our languages, it has to do with our culture. So bead work is just a reflection of who we are as a people."

In Ontario, more than 200 species of plants and animals are recognized as threatened, endangered, of special concern or locally extinct. The Wisdom of the Universe pictures a handful of these, which are joined by a stalk to the other plants and animals, creating an ecosystem that represents risk, loss and the interconnectedness of all living things.

Belcourt says, “All species, the lands, the waters are one beating organism that pulses like a heart.” The painting’s large scale gives viewers a sense of this vast network, which includes them, too.

Although we live in a time of environmental crisis, the artist says it’s possible for the planet to return to a state of well-being, but it will require a radical change in thinking. The painting’s symmetry points to the balance, pattern and harmony we can find in nature — a kind of wisdom we should do better to heed. Belcourt’s painted beads are another powerful symbol, suggesting units as small as molecules that can combine to build something as great as the universe. The artist asks us to look at these tiny details to see the bigger picture.

The Wisdom of the Universe shows us that every living thing is precious and that each one is connected. By revealing the wonder that surrounds us, the artwork calls us to protect it.

Artist statement by Christi Belcourt:

"In Ontario, over 200 species of plants and animals are listed as threatened, endangered or extinct. Of those, included in this painting are the Dwarf Lake Iris, the Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid, the Karner Blue butterfly, the West Virginia White butterfly, the Spring Blue-eyed Mary, the Cerulean Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher.

Globally, we live in a time of great upheaval. The state of the world is in crisis. We are witness to the unbearable suffering of species, including humans. Much of this we do to ourselves. It is possible for the planet to return to a state of well-being, but it requires a radical change in our thinking. It requires a willingness to be open to the idea that perhaps human beings have got it all wrong.

All species, the lands, the waters are one beating organism that pulses like a heart. We are all a part of a whole. The animals and plants, lands and waters, are our relatives each with as much right to exist as we have. When we see ourselves as separate from each other and think of other species, the waters and the planet itself as objects that can be owned, dominated or subjugated, we lose connection with our humanity and we create imbalance on the earth. This is what we are witnessing around us.

The planet already contains all the wisdom of the universe, as do you and I. It has the ability to recover built into its DNA and we have the ability to change what we are doing so this can happen.

Perhaps it's time to place the rights of Mother Earth ahead of the rights to Mother Earth."