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 drawing of a killer whale on a lime green coloured bookmark. The bookmark and drawing are both vertically oriented. On the front-side of the bookmark is a hand-drawn image of a whale in black pen ink, drawn in an arch. The head of the whale is parallel with the left edge of the paper. A thick black border outlines the shape of the head; the interior of the head is lime green with a black ovoid-shaped eye in the centre. Teeth, drawn as angled lines, line the upper jaw. At the back of the head, an exaggerated circular blowhole releases air. To the right of the blowhole is an enlarged dorsal fin decorated with a thick black border, a large green arch, and an ovoid. The left pectoral fin is positioned parallel to the head and the right edge of the paper; it is decorated with a black border, an ovoid, and a green arch. Below the pectoral fin, the profile view of the tail fluke is drawn; the fluke is embellished with a black border, a large ovoid, a green arch, and a small ovoid. A single curvy black line extends from the top of the dorsal fin to the bottom right corner of the bookmark. The reverse-side of the bookmark is machine-printed in black ink. At the top is the bookstore name, "The Phoenix Books," and the store's logo, a cartoon image of a phoenix rising from fire. Below is the bookstore's commercial information.