Artist Statement: Once while referring to a Thunderbird and Killerwhale maquette that he was working on for the Vancouver International Airport, Richard Hunt proclaimed that “all the figures and designs on this piece belong to the Kwakwaka’wakw people,” which is a remark that I felt ambivalent about. I agree that the particular design style and particular legend of Thunderbird and Killerwhale belongs to the Kwakwaka’wakw people, but legends of Thunderbirds and Killerwhales are “universal” (the term “universal” is anthropocentric) on the Northwest Coast. At the same time, I am a contemporary Coast Salish artist who is strongly opposed to cultural appropriation. Hence this design of multiple faces and four killerwhales in each corner, despite being designed with Coast Salish design elements, has a strong Robert Davidson “Abstract Edge” influence, and asks the cultural conFUSION question “What is yOURS and what is ours?”

--lessLIE

$2,700.00 CDN with custom frame

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