Sisiutl Crossbeam, 2008

screenprint
edition of 75
25.25 x 76 cm

Artist Marianne Nicolson is a member of the Dzawadaenuxw First Nations Tribe of the Kwakwakawakw Nation. This is the first screenprint by the artist, which Nicolson prepared in conjunction with her site specific installationThe House of the Ghosts, which was on view at the Vancouver Art Gallery from October 4, 2008 to January 11, 2009. For this work, she used high-powered theatrical lighting, transforming the Gallerys Georgia Street architectural faade into a re-imagining of a traditional Kwakwakawakw ceremonial house.

In this Artist Edition titledSisiutl Crossbeam, Nicolson extracted an element of the imagery used in The House of the Ghosts and created a two colour screenprint, a medium traditionally associated with First Nations artists. The elongated figure is called a Sisiutl which is a crest depicted as a two headed sea serpent with an anthropomorphic head (and hands) forming the central portion of the body. Nicolson then embossed a text, an unusual intervention in the screenprinting process, in both Kwakwakawakw and its English translation reading Come, Ghosts! You, whose night is day and whose day is night, in this Great House. Nicolson has stated that in traditional Kwakwakawakw ceremonies it is believed that spirits can be enticed into communion with humans, allowing them to conduct extraordinary feats Ultimately the work seeks assistance in the healing of the compromised landscape within which all Kwakwakawakw , First Nations and Canadians live.

Marianne Nicolson has had solo exhibitions at Or Gallery, Vancouver (1992); Campbell River Public Art Gallery (2000); National Indian Art Centre, Hull (2001); Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2002); Esquimalt Municipal Hall (2004); Artspeak, Vancouver (2006); and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (2008).