Shapeshifter paints a story of transformation, with no beginning or end, but rather, a story of evolving presence. With the capacity to continuously reimagine itself, the work reflects Burns’s belief that change is the only constant in life, and instead of meeting it with resistance, we should embrace it. Akin to these ideas, Burns explores the ways that Artificial Intelligence is actively affecting his everyday life and humanity as a whole. Influenced by the candid portrait paintings of Fritz Scholder, Burns approaches the tragedy, pain, and turmoil that he and his family have faced with a palpable intensity. Never shying away from darkness, his work depicts adversity with the inclusion of channels through to the light on the other side.

The definition of Shapeshifters varies widely among different Indigenous communities, each with its own cultural, spiritual, and historical context. From Burns’s context, a Shapeshifter is a being who can take form as creatures that deceive or harm others. This power is often associated with deep spiritual knowledge and connection to the natural world. These creatures and the harmful energy that they embody have been known within Burns’s Indigenous community, James Smith Cree Nation, as well as those close to him. As Brody reflects on this body of work, he sees Shapeshifter as a direct response to his thesis exhibition, No Words Necessary, (2023). Burns describes his experience during his MFA as being “in the dark looking at the light.” Looking back at this time, through the lens of this new work, he is now “in the light looking at the dark.”  

Shapeshifter is a testament to Burns’s deep commitment to personal growth, acting as a light for those who surround him. Through personal painted stories of real life transformation, emotion, and visions, Shapeshifter encourages deep reflection, empowering its viewers to question their own position in their lives, and whether or not they’ve had control of it. 

With the introduction of the internet and, eventually, artificial intelligence, Burns is acutely aware that both he and the rest of the world are exponentially shifting toward an increasingly online existence. Embracing this reality, Burns approaches this head on through the use of projection mapping projects that juxtapose typical uses for AI, casting them onto his canvases. By doing this, AI joins Burns in the physical world through his paintings, immersing his audience in a meta-visual commentary on scale, tactility, and color. He expertly uses AI to transport the viewer away from the ever-consuming online world, grounding them in the present moment, while simultaneously reminding them of how ever-present the online world has become. By exploring the paradox of escaping something that is simultaneously inescapable, the tension between disconnecting from the digital world and acknowledging how pervasive it is, becomes central to these works. 

Like Alex Janvier, Burns adopts modernist techniques to express abstract concepts, bringing spiritual and cultural complexity into a visual language that transcends words. Using thoughtful shape, line, and colour selections, his multi-dimensional paintings embody spirituality, a connection to the Creator, and his Indigenous cultural pillars. As viewers, Burns guides us to recognize that the pain from the past is integral to the joy of the present, and vice versa. These truths work together in constant flux, one never existing without the other. Shapeshifter serves as a testament to Burns's ongoing personal evolution, a visual exploration of the intertwining of pain and joy, darkness and light, inviting viewers to recognize the constant, dynamic interplay of these forces in their own lives.

Rowen Dinsmore and Hailey Weber