Latest news with #Sínulhḵay
CBC
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
This 40-foot serpent sculpture in Vancouver is a reclamation of Squamish and Japanese art
Social Sharing James Nexw'Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry, a Squamish artist, and Lauren Brevner of Japanese and Trinidadian heritage, have been collaborating on art pieces for a decade. The pair are partners in life and welcomed their daughter into the world two years ago. They thought of her as they pitched their latest public art project: a 40-foot sculpture of a two-headed snake located at the intersection of Granville Street and West Broadway, in Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood. The double-headed serpent, Sínulhḵay, is a supernatural being from a Squamish Nation story, and the sculpture was made using Japanese materials. The piece, they say, will allow their daughter to see her cultures represented in the mainstream. "When we were talking about what was important to us, it always came back to her, how we want her to walk in her power and be represented in this world," Brevener said. WATCH | 40-foot sculpture at future SkyTrain station incorporates Coast Salish, Japanese art: 40-foot sculpture at future SkyTrain station incorporates Coast Salish, Japanese art 3 days ago Duration 7:28 Artist James Harry and his collaborator Lauren Brevner worked on the new Sínulhḵay sculpture at the future location of the South Granville station in Vancouver. Harry, who is from the Squamish Nation, said the piece reflects a supernatural story of a double-headed serpent. "We wanted her to know who she is, so we created a body of work around that." The project was selected through a competitive process. Harry and Brevner curated the piece based on the Squamish story and a team of designers and fabricators at Area 58 Innovation Inc. in Langley built it. A warrior and a snake The serpent's two heads represent the good and the bad in life. In the story, a young warrior named Xwechtáal is tasked with killing the double-headed serpent because it is scaring away the animals. Xwechtáal has the option of slaying the serpent's good head or bad head. If he slayed the good head, he could take all the power for himself. If he slayed the bad head, it would bring back all of the animals. The story is a lesson in dealing with greed, Harry said. The piece took three years to create and will be unveiled to the public in July. "It's an amazing feeling honestly, we couldn't be more proud to be selected for this. For me personally, it feels like an enormous win for Coast Salish art and identity being represented in prominent places in our city," Harry told CBC's On The Coast. Japanese cedar The pair said they took a trip to Japan before they pitched the project, where they drew inspiration for the piece. Red cedar was hand carved and burned inside of the sculpture — a traditional Japanese wood preservation method known as Yakisugi that is used as a fire protectant. It also protects the wood from insects, fungi and mold, and can make it water-resistant — ideal for rainy Vancouver weather. On the outside of the sculpture, metal cladding wraps around the column from the top to bottom, with tapered edges at each end representing the heads of the serpent. 'Rooted in the land' Harry said he grew up hearing stories about the double-headed serpent from his father,Xwalacktun, who is a master carver in the Squamish Nation, and thought that it deserved to be represented in a notable Vancouver space. As part of the story, local nations say the serpent slithered down the Stawamus Chief Mountain, leaving behind a black line that can still be seen today. "We wanted to tell those stories that are rooted in the land and bring them to life," Harry said. He said he isn't a traditional storyteller but wanted to share the details to provide context to those who view the Sínulhḵay sculpture. He hopes it sparks people's curiosity to learn more about Coast Salish culture. "Ultimately, this is about placemaking," Brevner said. "When you go to the big cities around the world, you land there and you know where you are." In Vancouver, she said, visitors don't always know they're on Indigenous territories. "Because of what's happened here, I don't think we're at that point. The more art that goes up from this territory, I hope that people can look at these works and want to learn more about the story of Sínulhḵay," Brevner said. The duo collaborated on a double-headed serpent mural back in 2018 that was well loved on West Broadway, but the building it was on was torn down. Their new sculpture is located in the same area, which they say brings the spirit of the double-headed serpent back to the neighborhood. And because the serpent is known for its underground digging in the Squamish story, the artists say it's fitting that it's located next to the new underground Granville SkyTrain station, set to open in two years.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
40-foot sculpture immortalizes an Indigenous legend in Vancouver's Fairview
A Coast Salish public sculpture has been installed at the West Broadway and Granville Street intersection in Fairview. A new public art installation inspired by a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) folktale has been unveiled in Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood. The 40-foot-tall sculpture has been installed at the intersection of West Broadway and Granville Street and will welcome guests into The Stories at South Granville Station, a 39-storey mixed-use highrise due to open next month. A collaboration between Squamish Nation visual artist James Nexw'Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry and multidisciplinary artist Lauren Brevner, the piece pays homage to Sínulhḵay, a supernatural double-headed serpent shared within the oral histories of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. 'We all have our different versions, but the essence of the story is that Sínulhḵay came through the lands here and left marks all over the region,' says Nexw'Kalus-Xwalacktun, son of famed Squamish Nation artist and master carver Xwalacktun. 'There's this story of the good and bad and the choices that we all have to make. It's an example of how you have to go through your life making a choice between these two polar different decisions.' A common thread within those stories was of the double-headed serpent Sínulhḵay boring tunnels underneath underneath False Creek to connect various sites across the region - a fitting tribute given the location of the piece will also be home to the upcoming South Granville Station. First Nations sculpture in Fairview A rendering of the finished Indigenous sculpture, Sínulhḵay. The sculpture connects Nexw'Kalus-Xwalacktun's Indigenous artistry with Brevner's Japanese-Trinidadian cultural heritage, combining both metal and reclaimed, charred red cedar and showcasing a blackened interior that nods to the traditional Japanese technique of wood preservation, yakisugi. Both artists, who met while studying at New Westminster Secondary School, have been collaborating for over ten years and describe the project as the crux of their artistic partnership. 'All of our collaborative work is that intersectional dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous and, in simple terms, it's about just meeting in the middle,' says Brevner. 'How can we move forward together finding the similarities as opposed to the differences? As a settler, how do we find that path forward? In order to do that, you need to know the history,' she said, adding how it is the responsibility of settlers to know the stories of the people 'who have stewarded this land since time immemorial.' Sínulhḵay adds to the growing presence of Indigenous artworks in Vancouver, and across B.C., that aren't just playing a crucial role in reconciliation but are also preserving the First Nations cultural identity and heritage that was almost lost during colonization. Nexw'Kalus-Xwalacktun says he hopes the pieces incite respect and joy, alongside a thirst for education on the stories and tales that make up Vancouver for those both Indigenous and non-Indigenous living in, or visiting, the city. 'There just isn't a lot of our artwork left, and it's been a real struggle for Coast Salish people to reclaim that because a lot of it was lost. It's only within the last decade or so that we're really starting to notice our people grasp that and understand it themselves,' he says. 'There's really so many beautiful stories, and the artwork itself is so beautiful, and it's just such a shame to almost have seen it disappear. Now we're really celebrating the fact that there's this resurgence and building of the Indigenous identity of the city.'
