Marianne Nicolson

Marianne Nicolson (‘Tayagila’ogwa; born 1969) is a Dzawada’enuxw visual artist, whose work explores the margins at which public access to First Nations artifacts clashes with the preservation of indigenous cultural knowledge.^[1]

Born in Comox, British Columbia, she was trained by a master carver in traditional Kwakwaka’wakw design in the early 1990s. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 1996, and studied at the University of Victoria, graduating with a Masters in Fine Arts in 1999, a Masters in Linguistics and Anthropology in 2005, and a PhD in Linguistics, Anthropology and Art History in 2013. She also studied the Kwak’wala language and directed research investigating the link between indigenous language and indigenous worldview.^[1]

She utilizes painting, photography, mixed-media, sculpture, and installation to create modern depictions of traditional Kwakwaka’wakw beliefs, and has exhibited in Canada and throughout the world since 1992.^[2]

Early Personal Life

Marianne Nicolson was born in 1969, in Comox, British Columbia to a Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations mother of the Dzawada'enuxw descent, and a Scottish immigrant father from the Isle of Lewis. in the summer of 1980 at the age of 11 she moved from vancouver to kingcome inlet with her mother.^[3] Staying nearby to the place that is known for her ancestors significantly changed her life. The Time spent in Kingcome Inlet truly helped her get to be her identity today. She decided to become an artist when she was five years old.at he age of eleven, she was exposed to the visual art and culture of the Kwakwaka’wakw.^[4]

Education

She Graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Emily Carr institute of art and design in 1996.^[1]

Then she did her Masters on Fine arts from university of Victoria in 1999. She is working since 1992 locally, nationally and internationally most of it in public art galleries and site specific works. Her education incorporates both conventional Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw structures and culture and Western European based art practice. She continued her study and get a Masters in Linguistics and Anthropology in 2005 at the University of Victoria. Afterwards she got her PhD in Linguistics, Anthropology and Art History from same university.^[1]

Artistic career

Cliff Painting

Marianne Nicolson first became known after the completion of her Cliff Painting in her traditional homeland of Kingcome Inlet in 1998. The painting, which covers a surface of 28 by 38 foot on a fifty-foot cliff makes reference to the history of the Dzawada‘enuxw tribe of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations. It is the first mural to be completed in sixty years, celebrating the strength of her community of Gwa’yi. A copper design represents spiritual connection, and the Kawadilikala, the Dzawada'enuxw ancestor is also depicted while carrying a treasure box. The sun emerging from behind the Kawadilikala’s back symbolizes hope.

Pauline

In 2014, Nicolson co-designed the set for the Vancouver City Opera performance “Pauline.” 

Major Exhibitions

Walking on Water (Thin Ice)

Exhibited at Equinox Gallery in 2013, Nicolson’s installation Walking on Water (Thin Ice) consists of sculptures of blue glass inserted into wooden supports. The blue glass stands for glacial ice, and the glass shapes depict killer whale fins, as killer whales signify healing in Kwakwaka’wakw tradition. Human images on the whale fins denote the associations of all living creatures. The sculptures are circumscribed by drawings of Northwest Coast symbols, such as that of the owls, which carry the spirits of the deceased according to Kwakwaka’wakw principles, and also are becoming extinct as a result of habitat loss. The installation thus addresses concerns over global warming .^[5]

A Precarious State 

Her major installation A Precarious State consists of a six- by thirty-five-foot lit blue glass wall, which bears the image of a sinking killer whale carved onto it. This installation was made purposely for the Canadian Embassy in Amman, Jordan, where it has been on display since 2013. Also engraved on the blue glass are the different characters that are riding on the sinking killer whale’s back. The whale looks somewhat strained; however, it is not clear by looking at the image whether these characters are drowning the whale or simply riding on its back. According to Nicolson, A Precarious State is intended for multiple interpretations. In a Canadian context, the whale represents the ecosystem in B.C. or Canada, which has been jeopardized since colonization; however, this interpretation can be extended to encompass the disputes of all countries, including the Middle East, where this art piece is presented.^[4]

The Rivers Monument 

Her art piece titled The Rivers Monument has been installed at the A-B Connector at Vancouver International Airport, since January 2015.^[6] The Rivers Monument consists of two 8.5 m-tall blue glass poles, similar to totem poles on the Northwest Coast, enclosed by a water feature and an oval wooden bench at the base. Displaying indigenous designs inside the glass, the two poles represent the Columbia River and the Fraser River, revealing their respective histories concerning how European colonizers’ construction of dams greatly reduced the salmon population and obliterated thousands of indigenous pictographs. Marianne Nicolson has expressed optimism about the YVR for selecting her “very political” artwork for the connector, “[pushing] their own boundaries slightly” and raising awareness about indigenous peoples and their histories.^[7]

Tunics of the Changing Tide:

In her 2007 painting Tunics of the Changing Tide, exhibited at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery in 2017, Nicolson has illustrated two garments bearing the figures of a Thunderbird, a mink, a snake, and a tree. Outlines of ravens, wolves, and people are painted in the background, and objects such as coppers and coins, representing wealth and status, are attached on the surface. As its title implies, Nicolson’s painting draws attention to the experiences of the Kwikwasut’inuxw and Dzawada̱’enux̱w in terms of their economic growth and decline due to colonization, and makes reference to the swing from the flourishing economy of the 1880's to the downfall of the Northwest Coast nations in the 1920s due to potlatch ban legislation. A 1929 coin on the Thunderbird denotes the revival of cultural traditions amongst the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw, and their resistance against assimilation.^[8]

The House Of The Ghost

According to Nicolson “The House of the Ghosts acts much like traditional performances executed within Kwakwaka’wakw ceremonies where, through an exhibition of the spectacular, it is believed that spirits can be enticed into communion with humans, allowing them to conduct extraordinary feats,This work highly influenced by Kwakwaka’wakw's traditional belief that balance underlies nature.In all earnestness, this carefully crafted performance attempts to draw forth the assistance of the supernatural in the healing of First Nations communities and individuals, as well as the conflicted past and present relationships between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal groups. Ultimately the work seeks assistance in the healing of the compromised landscape within which all Kwakwaka’wakw, First Nations and Canadians live.”

Foolmakers in the Setting Sun (Ni’nułamgila le’e Banistida `Tłisala)

Her installation Foolmakers in the Setting Sun (Ni’nułamgila le’e Banistida `Tłisala), exhibited in 2014 at Gallery 2 in Grand Forks, British Columbia, depicts the dan`tsikw (powerboards) that serve as spiritual powers during the 'tukwid, a traditional Kwakwaka’wakw ritual. Illustrations of a ghost and two nułamgila (foolmakers) are carved onto the three glass boards. Light is sent off onto the boards, simulating the sunset, producing shadows of the carved ghosts, which grow taller until they pass through an image of the Alberta Tar Sands on the wall at dusk. Foolmakers in the Setting Sun addresses how global warming and environmental contamination as a result of the pipeline project would destroy the planet, through the Kwakwaka’wakw worldview 

References