Artist Statement: The original painting was featured in the groundbreaking international exhibition Hailans to Ailans in London UK during the autumn of 2009.

Artist Story:

In the discourse on contemporary Northwest Coast art, one of the arguments made is that the commercial market for Northwest Coast art contributes to neocolonialism and cultural loss. In the history of Northwest Coast people, First Nations were dispossessed of their lands through colonialism. Now through neocolonialism and the commercialization of Northwest Coast art, it could be tentatively argued that the selling of Northwest Coast art, as the concrete visual symbols of culture and tradition, causes contemporary Northwest Coast artists to unwittingly contribute to neocolonialism.
On the other hand, although I am a contemporary Coast Salish person strongly opposed to neocolonialism and cultural appropriation, I do believe that the commercial market for Northwest Coast art is vital to the art forms. As the great scholar and Northwest Coast artist Marianne Nicholson has articulated, the commercial market for Northwest Coast art is partially responsible for the perpetuation of traditional art forms. In the past, as the late Nuu-chaah-nulth artist Art Thompson has articulated, Northwest Coast people were the primary patrons of Northwest Coast art within traditional ceremonial contexts. In the present, with neocolonialism aside, it should not be overlooked that the contemporary patrons of Northwest Coast art contribute to the perpetuation of traditional art forms. In the history of art, patrons are undoubtedly pivotal to art.


--lessLIE

$450.00 CDN serigraph
$2,500.00 CDN with custom frame

Questions about the item? Email us.