The Cowichan Valley Arts Council gallery received a unique delivery on Monday in the form of a more than 7-metre-long red cedar log which required a dozen volunteers to wheel into the building.
The log is one of the many works of art that are being displayed as part of an exhibition called Many Hands — Working Together. It features the work of Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw carver Tlithl’Kawi (Rupert Scow) and other local artists he has formed relationships with over his years of mentoring and teaching art in the Cowichan Valley.
During the exhibition, Tlithl’Kawi will carve a canoe from the log in live demonstrations and with the help of exhibit attendees. He’ll then donate the canoe to the Sunrise Waldorf School.
Masks carved by Tlithl’Kawi will also be on display, as well as works by Shawn Johnny, Hwiemtun (Fred Roland), Sonny James, Jennifer Shepherd and Guy Manuel, featuring carving, printmaking, jewelry and cedar weaving.
Johnny, a Quw’utsun artist, was the first to have his work hung in the gallery the morning the canoe arrived. The piece is a collaboration between Johnny and Chemainus-based stained glass artist Paul Fogarty. Johnny created the design, which depicts S-hwu-hwa’us and Qul-lhanumutsun — a thunderbird and orca rooted in Quw’utsun storytelling — and Fogarty translated it into glass.
Read also: The story of S-hwu-hwa’us and Qul-lhanumutsun
Tlithl’Kawi said he hopes visitors enjoy the art, but more importantly leave with an understanding that it takes “many hands” to create a show like this.
“It’s all about bringing together many diverse people,” he said.
From totem pole to gallery
Tlithl’Kawi told The Discourse that the first “glimmer” of the idea for Many Hands came to him during a celebration feast for a welcome totem pole he carved for The HUB at Cowichan Station.
“Everybody [was] getting together and having a good time. First Nations, non-First Nations, it didn’t even matter, we came together and so that’s what really hatched the idea,” he said.
Read also: Totem pole at the HUB stands as a symbol of community
After that event, Tlithl’Kawi said he began to explore what it might look like for a community to come together to make art. His answer, in part, is the exhibition Many Hands — Working Together, and he wanted to use it as an opportunity to encourage people of all backgrounds to come into the gallery.
“I wanted to let people know that this space is available for all artists because traditionally, Quw’utsun people haven’t been willing to come in here,” Tlithl’Kawi said. “Now everybody’s coming in here to work together.”
“I think that we have a responsibility, not just to search it out, but also to contribute to the community and rub shoulders with everyone, from all walks of life,” Tlithl’Kawi said.
Paddling together
Getting the massive piece of wood into the gallery was no small feat for volunteers. Using a dolly provided by the community centre and four smaller logs, they rolled the soon-to-be canoe off a trailer bed that was towed by a truck, then lifted and pushed it into the gallery as a team.
When the canoe finally came to rest in the middle of the gallery, the volunteers shared a round of applause and high-fives for a job well done.
Tlithl’Kawi will work on the canoe over the course of the exhibition and on Feb. 23, he will host a carving and storytelling session in the gallery. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions about the carving process and learn more about the traditions that guide his work.
Tlithl’Kawi recalled the way community members — including students from the Sunrise Waldorf School — came together to help carve, paint and raise the welcome totem pole for The HUB at Cowichan Station. He said he hopes to capture a similar spirit with the canoe at the Cowichan Valley Arts Council gallery.
“If anybody feels drawn to carve on that canoe, they’re welcome. Because that’s the way that I handled that totem pole, all of those good feelings go into it,” Tlithl’Kawi said.
“The totem pole taught me that it takes many people to do something — anything — in community.”
Tlithl’Kawi said a canoe is the perfect example of working together.
“It’s also learning how to paddle together to get to a destination. You know, you can’t paddle in different directions,” he said.
On Monday, Feb. 23, Tlithl’Kawi will host a live carving demonstration as he works on the canoe, and a closing ceremony will be held on Feb. 28.
A GoFundMe has been set up by Brandy Gallagher, friend of Tlithl’Kawi and founder of O.U.R. Ecovillage in Shawnigan Lake, to raise $3,500 for the exhibition. Donations will go towards paying honorariums for artists, Elders and Knowledge Keepers as well as a community feast.
