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| Alchetron |
A solo show by Michael Nicoll
Yahgulanaas in Victoria is long overdue. Michael Warren of Madrona
Gallery agrees but the problem he says is getting a body of work
together. Yahgulanaas’ work is in much demand all over the world and
Madrona
are lucky to have at least one painting and some drawings to show. They
are also lucky to have Ottilie Short, a student of Yahgulanaas at UVic,
behind the desk to talk about him.
Yahgulanaas is a very active
artist. He has had numerous travelling exhibitions and his work can be
seen in public spaces, museums, galleries and private collections across
North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. He
works in a variety of forms and media. He also teaches, gives talks,
writes books, sits on the board of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC and
manages various trusts. His illustrated books include ‘Flight of the
Humming Bird’ and ‘RED: A Haida Manga’.
With his prodigious energy and
output he is actively expanding the audience for First Nations art. He
achieves this by fusing traditional elements with contemporary
phenomena, intricate paintings for instance that combine Japanese Manga
comics with Chinese brushwork that he learned from Cantonese master Cai
Ben Kwon, and Haida motifs.
It’s a hybrid art form that
reflects his own background, Yahgulanaas has both Haida and European
heritage and is descended from Isabella and Charles Edenshaw. He was
born in Prince Rupert and grew up on Haida Gwaii where he was involved
in community service for many years before finding time for art.
A series called ‘Coppers from
the Hood’ perfectly demonstrates the artists’ cross-cultural interests
and sense of fun. One piece in particular, now in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York is actually a Haida motif painted on a Tercel
hood. One might think that such blatant cultural appropriation would be
a little controversial. Not so. Aparently Haida Gwai locals found it
quite amusing. As Yahgulanaas explains ‘car hoods are a traditional way
of transporting canoes to water’.
As traditional native art
becomes more experimental this kind of cultural fusion is gradually
becoming the norm. The broader question of course is the extent to which
indigenous people adapt to the dominant culture. Or even if they
should.
As Bill Reid asked in a discussion with Yahgulanaas ….is this work art
or ethnicity? It’s a serious question and the debate is ongoing.
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas seems to have found a light-hearted way of
dealing with it.
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| Ocean Bird |
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| Bone Box |
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| Yelthadaas |
