1978 -
Canadian Indigenous
Untitled (diptych)
spray paint on wood panel diptych
on verso signed and dated 2020 on each panel
48 x 72 in, 121.9 x 182.9 cm
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CAD
Sold for: $8,750
Preview at: Vancouver Art Gallery, 4th Floor
PROVENANCE
Donated by the Artist
Courtesy of Fazakas Gallery, Vancouver
Corey Bulpitt, from the Naikun Raven clan of the Haida, is also known as Taakeit Aaya or “Gifted Carver” and was born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. He is the great-great-grandson of famed artist Charles Edenshaw (1839 – 1920) and prolific argillite carver Louis Collison (1881 – 1970). Bulpitt is a wood and argillite carver, in addition to being a painter, jeweller and graffiti artist. He has carved many important totem poles, including a 20-foot yellow cedar pole for Scouts Canada, a 17-foot story pole now at Queen Charlotte Lodge, and a 14-foot mortuary-style memorial, which stands in the 'Namgis burial ground in Alert Bay, British Columbia, carved in memory of his Haida ancestors who died during the smallpox epidemic of 1862. In 2017, he received the BC Creative Achievement Award for First Nations Art for Artistic Excellence in both traditional and contemporary visual art.
The use of spray paint has become an important part of Bulpitt’s artistic practice. His graffiti work can be seen in many museums, festivals and urban settings. This painting bridges his carving and painting practices in its use of the skull imagery that Bulpitt originally designed for the University of British Columbia’s Reconciliation Pole, carved in 2017 by Jim Hart - Chief 7idansuu (Edenshaw). The skulls, scattered cross a pink, purple, black and grey camouflage landscape, remind us of the countless deaths of Indigenous peoples due to brutal colonialist strategies in Canada.
This work is unframed.
Please note: Consignor Hammer Price proceeds of this lot will benefit the Vancouver Art Gallery.
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