Drawing

These 62 small works (3223/1-62) comprise a collection of drawings in pencil, ink, pencil crayon, and felt pen made by the artist between the years 1968 and 2015. During that period the artist has identified himself by the following names: Ron Hamilton; Hupquatchew; Ki-ke-in; Kwayatsapalth; Chuuchkamalthnii; and Haa’yuups. The drawings are, for the most part, applied to the backs of bookmarks acquired from a range of bookshops; some are applied to other pieces of paper or cutouts from his earlier silkscreen prints. Many of the images represent killer whales, often in conjunction with accoutrements and symbols of Nuu-chah-nulth whaling. The juxtaposition of bookmark and representation of Nuu-chah-nulth himwits’a, or narrative, is a deliberate and meaningful placement of two distinct knowledge systems in relationship with one another. Ephemeral drawings like these were not created for the market; the artist has long made them for himself and sometimes as gifts for relatives and friends; they are a way of sharing his knowledge and experience about Nuu-chah-nulth ways of knowing, thinking about, and being in this world; they are expressive of what he calls kiitskiitsa: marks made with intention.

A vertically oriented drawing on a single-sided piece of paper. At the top of the page is a decorated crescent-shaped being with eyes, a mouth, and a curled nose. A small coastal mountain scene is drawn below. Under the mountain scene, in the middle section of the page, are six human-like figures, and a human skull. The human-like figures all have their hands in the air, their hair is drawn upwards suggesting that they are moving in a downward direction, and they all have circular eyes and mouths. The largest human-like figure is embellished with male genitalia. The skull, larger than any of the human-like figures, is positioned horizontally in the centre of the page. At the very bottom of the page is a decorated thunderbird(?) with a human-like left hand and an arrow extending outwards from its mouth. The reverse-side of the page is blank.