Maashi Goon by Aylan Couchie

maashi goon (snow blowing hard) is the second film in Aylan Couchie’s wenbik series, created during the early days of the pandemic. Drawn to the stillness of the land as the world slowed down, Couchie reflects on the deep connections between Nishnaabe language, land, and ways of seeing. Filmed in the serene landscapes of Nbisiing (Nipissing), the work contrasts the quiet beauty of nature with the overwhelming noise of social media and relentless pandemic news cycles. Through meditative visuals, maashi goon invites viewers to (re)connect with the land, offering a space of reflection rooted in Nishnaabe language and understanding—a counterpoint to the chaos of uncertain times.

About the artist

Aylan Couchie (she/her) is a Nishnaabekwe interdisciplinary artist, curator and writer hailing from Nipissing First Nation. She is a Georgian College alumna starting out in the Art & Design Fundamentals program (2012) and then completing a Fine Arts Advanced degree in 2015. She then headed east to Halifax to complete her BFA at NSCAD University in sculpture and installation (2016). From there, she moved to Tkarón:to, achieving her MFA in the Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design program at OCAD University where she focused her thesis on reconciliation and its relationship to monument and public art. She’s currently in her fourth year of study at Queen’s University where she's a PhD Candidate in the Cultural Studies program researching areas of land+language+Indigenous placemaking through mapping, naming and public art.

Couchie has been the recipient of several awards including an “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture” award through the International Sculpture Centre and a Premier’s Award through Ontario Colleges. In 2023, she was chosen by Queen’s University as their sole nominee for the annual SSHRC Talent Award. She is a committee member of Nipissing (Nbisiing) First Nation’s Language and Culture committee and a Board Member for Native Women in the Arts where she served as Board Chair from 2018 to 2020. She’s a single Mom to three boys and Gookmis (Grandmother) of four. She splits her time living and working between her Nbisiing home community in Northern Ontario and Tkarón:to where she is employed as Assistant Professor of Indigenous Digital Art, Culture and Media at the University of Toronto.