Alyen Leeachum Foning belongs to the Lepcha people of the Eastern Himalayas. Foning’s installation is dedicated to her ancestors – who originated from the pure white snow of Kanchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world – and to the story of her people, who are remembering and forging their identity in contemporary times.

This installation centres around the Muun, a traditional female shaman of the Lepcha tribe, who holds histories and stories of the Indigenous Lepcha people and their landscape. Muuns are the medium between the spirit world, Mother Creator and humans. Drawing upon the oral histories, stories from tribal elders, shamans and Alyen’s own journey coming from a lineage of Muuns, her work details the role of the female shaman as healer, spiritual guide, diviner and ritual specialist that regenerates the human body, land, ancestral connection and Lepcha identity.

The headgear in the installation is created as a personal ceremonial regalia, channelling the song of the local Relli River and the surrounding forest, honouring the sacred deities of the location as Alyen narrates the origin story and cycles of life and death, of how we return to where we came from. The stories continue across the other features of the installation with roots connecting back to a central sapling.