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By Suzanne Smith
Walsh with Coast Salish artist and UVic interdisciplinary master’s student lessLIE (Leslie Sam) by one of several works of his in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria exhibition
Thanks to a unique partnership between a UVic anthropologist, the First Peoples Language, Heritage and Culture Council (FPLHCC) and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV), the gallery is offering its first exhibit focused entirely on contemporary Coast Salish art. The exhibit, entitled Transporters: Contemporary Coast Salish Art, runs until Feb. 24.
Andrea Walsh, UVic anthropologist and co-curator of the exhibit, proposed the idea to the AGGV.
“When I first suggested the idea, the AGGV was very enthusiastic because it had never been done before. I proposed the idea of working collaboratively with Cathi Charles Wherry, arts coordinator with FPLCC, because I had always wanted to work with her. I’m also a big supporter of working collaboratively with members of the community,” explains Walsh.
One of Walsh’s research interests involves engaging different publics in the production of art. She explains that images can be used in unique ways to help us see each other differently and perhaps better understand each other’s past and contemporary lives.
“This exhibit is very special because it has allowed two distinct communities to come together—the public who visit the AGGV and the producers of Coast Salish art. It is also significant because we were able to bring together expertise from UVic, the AGGV and a First Nations heritage organization. This kind of collaboration should be done more often,” says Walsh.
Walsh worked with co-curator Wherry to put together the concept for the exhibit. The title of the exhibition — Transporters — was in part inspired by a concept found in the Salish language that indicates the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another. Walsh explains this transfer of knowledge to be similar to the idea that “artists inherently take us to new places through their actions” and even after they leave “their art continues to transport us.”
When it came to selecting artists for the exhibit, Walsh and Wherry chose them according to the kind of work they were doing and how it related to the other artists. During studio visits, Walsh and Wherry consulted with the artists when selecting their work. They asked the artists to bring forward the work that they felt was most representative of their practices and then Walsh and Wherry looked for the links between their submissions.
The exhibit includes everything from glass sculpture and traditional cedar carving to innovative serigraphy prints and conceptual installation work. Some of the art is politically motivated or comments on the state of the environment. One piece, for example, by artist Lawrence Paul (Yuxweluptun), depicts the highly contested nature of the treaty process. It includes a table draped in the BC provincial flag covered with beads, peanuts and pennies and a picture of the Queen hanging from the ceiling with the words “cash cow” printed on it. The pennies and peanuts symbolize Paul’s views that the chiefs are accepting too little for their land.
Paul’s piece is juxtaposed with a piece by Charles Elliot, a legendary carver and resident of the Tsartlip Reserve in Saanich. Elliot’s carving depicts a traditional Cowichan story about the thunderbird and the whale. The story tells of how the killer whale came to Cowichan Bay and ate all the salmon. When the thunderbird grabbed the whales and transported them away, the people were saved from starvation. Walsh explains that she and Wherry saw this traditional story as an example of the First Nations’ struggle over resources.
In addition to Elliot and Paul, the exhibit includes work by Maynard Johnny Jr., lessLIE, John Marston, Luke Marston, Marvin Oliver, Chris Paul, Shaun Peterson and Susan Point.
To date the exhibit has been very successful. Mary Jo Hughes, chief curator at the AGGV, says that in addition to securing a large crowd at the opening and attracting numerous school visits, the exhibit has pointed out a gap in the gallery’s collection.
“It is now a priority for us in the next year to begin collecting contemporary Coast Salish art pieces for the gallery. We will be considering purchasing some of the pieces in Transporters for our collection,” says Hughes.
For further information about the exhibit, visit www.aggv.bc.ca.
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