Elements of the Earth: Land, Water, Air, Fire
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Description
‘Elements of the Earth’ by Joseph Wilson – First Nations Northwest Coast, Coast Salish Art presented by DaVic Gallery of Native Canadian Arts
This product is now ** SOLD **
Condition: No condition to be noted.
Description by Artist: “Elements of the Earth – Land, Water, Air, Fire series was designed as a portrayal of the universal elements in symbolic form, translated into Coast Salish design particular to the Coast Salish Territory. Each piece was created specifically to represent the most common example of that element in Coast Salish lands. ‘Fire’ is depicted as the Sun which shines on the land. ‘Water’ is depicted as the west coast icon, the Killerwhale. ‘Air’ is depicted as the legendary creature, Thunderbird. ‘Land’ is depicted in the pairing of the Eagle and the Salmon.”
- Land: “Land, or Earth, in particular for this element. I chose the Eagle and Salmon for this design because, within the Coast Salish geographical region, these are images which are the most widely seen, known and used. The Eagle catching Salmon was most commonly seen in the fall, when the Salmon migrated to ‘Land’.”
- Water: “For the water element the most common and well known creature of the sea in this territory is the wily killer-whale, shown here with a smile and blowhole, which sings the song of the killer-whale. The killer-whale is very esteemed for its song and just the sight of it brings excitement and enthusiasm.”
- Air: “”The most common mythological being of the skies, or ‘Air,’ of the Pacific Northwest was known as ‘Thunderbird.’ The god of the sky was known to create thunder with the clap of his wings, and evoked ‘Lightning snakes’ from his wings to paralyze his prey.”
- Fire: “From where I come from, Cowichan, which means ‘the warm land,’ was symbolic for our community because it was situated in a warm valley In the fire element, the god of the sky was considered a life-giving force and treated with honour and respect for the light that is brought each day and the life that it brings.”
Notes from DaVic Gallery: Elements of the Earth Limited Edition print set numbered 273 of 280 is sold as set only with each print titled:
- “Land”
- “Water”
- “Air”
- “Fire”
This limited edition silkscreen prints was published in August, 2007. It was hand produced by the screen-printing process. It is the only limited edition printing of this design. The artist has inspected and signed each copy in the edition: 280 signed and numbered copies, 28 artist’s proofs, 1 printer’s proof. All trial copies of this edition have been destroyed and the printing stencils obliterated.