Brent Hardisty is a woodland style painter who works in acrylics on canvas. His spiritual name is Niiwin Binesi, which roughly translated means Four Birds. He is from Sagamok First Nation, located on the beautiful and magical northern shore of Georgian Bay. As a young teenager, Brent lived with his mother and attended high school in southern Ontario, where an older peer mentored him in the arts of graffiti. Unlike many First Nations, he was privileged to be able to travel around Ontario and live off of the reservation for some time, including Toronto, where he resided for 8 years. Throughout this time, he was known as a graffiti artist, muralist and all around artist. In 2015, after returning to his community of Sagamok Anishnawbek, he transferred his graffiti skills and experience into acrylic woodland style paintings. The direction to paint in this style came to him shortly after attending a spring ceremony in 2016, where he received his spiritual name. The images you will see are the result of his transition and are also directly inspired by his people’s spiritual traditions and ceremonies. He now currently lives and works from home with his two children and partner in Sagamok First Nation. Brent contacted the Friends United initiative for the first time in 2016 and joined after he met many of the other artist members. Many of his paintings are exhibited at the Friends United International Convention Centre.
