Sky Hopinka

Sky Hopinka

b. 1984, Ferndale, Washington. Lives in New York

Sky Hopinka is a multimedia artist whose preferred medium of video installation focuses on the historical narrative of native peoples and uses language as a tool to examine identity, culture, and the influence of colonialism particularly on the native populations of northern Wisconsin, Southern California, and the Pacific Northwest. Hopinka’s installations are organized in such a way that viewers have a sense of moving through locations in Hopinka’s footsteps, emphasizing the significance of land and landscape to history and one’s cultural identity. Hopinka’s work has been featured at the Whitney Biennial, New York (2017), and he has screened films at the Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah; New York Film Festival; Crossroads Film Festival, Jackson, Mississippi; and Filmfest DC, Washington, DC. Hopinka earned a BA from Portland State University, Oregon, and an MFA in film, video, animation, and new genres from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He currently teaches at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. 

Sky Hopinka, Dislocation Blues, 2017. HD video, stereo, color, 16 min., 57 sec. Courtesy of the artist