Artist Brian Jungen Transforms Nike Air Jordans into Awesome Aboriginal Masks

Canadian artist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Jungen" target="_blank">Brian Jungen</a> uses unexpected found objects like Nike sneakers to create sculptural pieces that pay tribute to his Native American ancestry. Giving a nod to both his Swiss and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danezaa_people" target="_blank">Dunn-za First Nations</a> heritages, the artist uses <a href="http://inhabitat.com/artist-recycled-washed-up-toys-on-california-seashore-into-beach-plastic-artwork/" target="_blank">contemporary materials</a> and juxtaposes them with traditional Native American craftwork. Nike <a href="http://inhabitat.com/shoe-shaped-wooden-birdhouses-hang-over-urban-power-lines-like-sneakers/" target="_blank">sneakers</a>, leather gloves, baseball bats and other <a href="http://inhabitat.com/recyclart/" target="_blank">sports gear</a> are appropriated into traditional masks and ceremonial pieces, fusing modernity with Jungen’s ancestors' traditions.

Jungen doesn’t just use <a href="http://inhabitat.com/lisa-nilsson-constructs-intricate-anatomical-studies-from-rolled-japanese-paper/" target="_blank">found objects</a>, but specifically chooses source materials that echo some sort of social or cultural symbol or tradition. For example, the artist used Nike Air Jordans to make up traditional aboriginal masks.

Keeping the popular sneakers unaltered and recognizable, Jungen draws attention to the culture surrounding <a href="http://inhabitat.com/star-wars-fan-recycles-adidas-sneakers-into-a-stormtrooper-helmet/" target="_blank">expensive basketball shoes</a>, where kids are beat up for their <a href="http://inhabitat.com/russy-valenki-vintage-scarf-shoes-aint-your-babushkas-sneakers/" target="_blank">shoes</a>, or obscene prices are charged in order to fit in and look like everyone else.

The masks also call to mind the relationship between consumerism and Native American artifacts- a tourism industry all its own, which has exploited the traditions of indigenous peoples and turned it into collectible decorations that are available in souvenir shops across Canada.

Jungen further addresses the exploited traditions of the First Nations culture with works such as a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/christy-rupp-creates-creepy-skeletons-of-extinct-birds-with-fast-food-chicken-bones/" target="_blank">whale skeleton</a> made from plastic chairs bought at a Canadian Tire gas station, or a tent made from the skins of leather couches.

The artist also uses sports equipment, carving totems in <a href="http://inhabitat.com/minnesota-twins-target-field-achieves-second-leed-silver-certification/" target="_blank">baseball bats</a>, or hand stitching birds from gloves, to cast familiar objects in the roles of Native American traditions.

Jungen’s work has been celebrated and highly acclaimed across Canada, having exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/historic-church-with-tiffany-stained-glass-transformed-into-beautiful-concert-hall-for-montreal/" target="_blank">Montreal Museum of Fine Art</a>. He is also the first living Native American to display work at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.