"Artists depiction of MMIW shocks mother of victim"

A Six Nations woman whose daughter was murdered in 2003 is livid after viewing a graphic and bloody depiction of missing and murdered indigenous women that was displayed during an art showcase in Hamilton earlier this month.

Now she's working with other families of missing and murdered indigenous women to ensure the "art" does not continue to be displayed across Canada after it triggered painful emotional flashbacks for both herself and her granddaughter.

Aileen Joseph and her granddaughter Sheena were full of rage and tears after visiting the art display by Simcoe woman Tracey Mae Chambers at a showcase in Hamilton on July 8.

Aileen has vowed to shut the woman's artwork down. Shelley Joseph, Aileen's daughter and Sheena's mother, was murdered in Hamilton in 2003.

For them, the display hit too close to home and brought back haunted memories of their beloved daughter and mother.

"I had confronted her (Chambers) and as I left I said, 'I will shut you down,'" said Aileen. "It was an MMIW display of bloody t-shirts, bodies laying in the grass, dresses hanging from the ceiling and much gross stuff. I was appalled. Sheena and I both cried... it brought back stuff that we had hidden away in the back of our minds for years. I have not recovered yet."

The woman's artwork was removed shortly after Aileen complained.

"This lady is touring Canada with this horrid stuff and I would not want other families to go through what Sheena and I have been going through the last couple weeks," Aileen said. "I have sent information to all the MMIW families I know around the country."

Chambers, who identifies as an ally of MMIW and their families, posted a lengthy apology on her Facebook page and said she will modify the exhibit after she was confronted about her work.

"I have publicly apologized for upsetting or hurting anyone. I meant those things. The exhibition will be 'modified'.

"However, I have a plan," she said. "I am far from giving up. Since the resistance I have been encountering is directed at the visceral nature of the content I will be changing that. I still want to show the vastness of this number. So, I have devised an alternate way to achieve that. This is where you come in," she posted to her followers.

"I need you to take photos of yourself. Does not matter what you are wearing. It does not matter what nationality you are. It does not matter about the quality of the photo, it can be done with a phone, tablet or camera."

She continued:

"TO BE VERY VERY CLEAR: These are NOT photos of violence!!! Just of you as a human being who cares about missing and murdered Aboriginal women. This will be from the window looking out essentially. Rather than us looking into the violence. Make sense? Hard to explain.

You can send me as many photos as you are willing to do. It does not matter where the photos are taken...anywhere and everywhere. If you have photos already taken that you wish to share...please do. One person per shot.

She wrote also that there are people in Canada who are allies and who are just as concerned and heart-broken about the numbers.