Echo Henoche

Echo Henoche is an emerging interdisciplinary artist from Nain, Nunatsiavut, NL. She works in drawing, animation, jewellery and most recently, film. Henoche made her directorial debut in 2017 with the animated short Shaman, created in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Henoche cites her grandfather as an important influence on her art as she recalls watching him carve from an early age [1].

Subjects such as Sedna and wildlife are ongoing themes in Henoche's work. In her drawings, watercolour paintings and printmaking Henoche distinguishes figurative elements like Sedna through precise lines set against a colourful environment. Her short Shaman began its journey when the Nunatsiavut Government invited NFB staff to travel to Labrador to explore capacity building in audio-visual art practices in the region [2]. This lead to the collaboration between the NFB and Henoche and provided the artist an opportunity to work with film and animation, expanding her artistic practice. The resulting film is set in Nain, where a polar bear that was terrorizing the community was turned into a stone. The legend has personal significance for Henoche as she has heard it from her grandfather since childhood [3]. She also provided throat-singing vocals for the film.

In 2017 Shaman was part of the Official Selection for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Toronto, ON, the American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco, CA and California's American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival, Temecula, CA. Henoche also participated in the Labrador Creative Arts Festival and was invited to tour her film throughout communities in Labrador as part of the NFB’s Aabiziingwashi Indigenous cinema tour [4].
Henoche is motivated to continue creating and sharing works that represents her Nunatsiavummiut heritage.