'namaxsala is inspired by a story told to the artist, Mary Anne Barkhouse, by her grandfather Fred Cook. In the story, her grandfather helps a wolf cross a treacherous piece of water in a boat, on the West coast of Canada. “My grandfather’s stories always offered an alternative view for considering the world around me,” the artist remembers. “And so, I relate one of them here, to help negotiate cooperation with the ‘other’ and inclusion of the wild.”
'namaxsala reflects on human relationships with the natural world. The choice of copper and bronze speaks simultaneously to Kwakwaka’wakw tradition and contemporary ingenuity. The sculpture also connects with the totem poles and houses installed in the Grand Hall of the Museum.
Mary Anne Barkhouse
Mary Anne Barkhouse was born in Vancouver, BC and belongs to the ‘Namgis band, Kwagiulth First Nation. She is a descendant of a long line of internationally recognized Northwest Coast artists that includes Ellen Neel, Mungo Martin and Charlie James. She graduated with Honours from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and has studied extensively with noted silversmith Lois Etherington Betteridge. She has exhibited widely across Canada and the United States.
Working with a variety of materials, Barkhouse examines environmental concerns and indigenous culture through the use of animal imagery. A member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Barkhouse’s work can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Mendel Art Gallery, Mackenzie Art Gallery, Art Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts, UBC Museum of Anthropology, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Banff Centre for the Arts and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. In addition, she has public art installations at Thunder Bay Art Gallery, McMaster Museum of Art (Hamilton, ON), University of Western Ontario (London, ON), McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinberg, ON), Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, ON), Macdonald Stewart Art Centre (Guelph, ON) Haliburton Sculpture Forest (Haliburton, ON) and the Millennium Walkway in Peterborough, Ontario.
Barkhouse currently resides in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario.
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‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)The process of creating the patina for the bronze wolf sculpture at the artist’s studio, Minden, Ontario
Photo: © Al Reed‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Rinsing of the bronze after the hot patination process
Photo: © Al Reed‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Hot wax application after patination and rinsing
Photo: © Al Reed‘NAMAXSALA (VOYAGER ENSEMBLE DANS UN BATEAU)Application de cire chaude après la création de la patine et le rinçage
Photo : © Al Reed‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Hot wax application after patination and rinsing
Photo: © Al Reed‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Hot wax application after patination and rinsing
Photo: © Al Reed‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Canoe at Soheil Mosun facility, awaiting shipping sculpture
Photo: © Mary Anne Barkhouse‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Preparing to install the wolf sculpture
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0186-0001-Dm sculpture
Photo: Alain Proulx‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)The artist photographing the sculpture
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0186-0002-Dm sculpture
Photo: Alain Proulx‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)The wolf inside the canoe
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0186-0003-Dm
Photo: Alain Proulx‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)The completed installation
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0186-0004-Dm
Photo: Alain Proulx‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)The unveiling September 13, 2013 Left to right: Jean-Charles D’Amours, John Buhler, Mark O’Neill, Bonnie Buhler and Mary Anne Barkhouse sculpture
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0156-0006-Dm sculpture
Photo: Ryan McCosham‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)John and Bonnie Buhler at the unveiling September 13, 2013 sculpture
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0156-0010-Dm sculpture
Photo: Ryan McCosham‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Close-up, 'namaxsala sculpture
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0156-0014-Dm sculpture
Photo: Ryan McCosham‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Close-up, 'namaxsala sculpture
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0156-0016-Dm sculpture
Photo: Ryan McCosham‘NAMAXSALA (TO TRAVEL IN A BOAT TOGETHER)Mary Anne Barkhouse and 'namaxsala September 13, 2013 sculpture
© Canadian Museum of Civilization, IMG2013-0156-0013-Dm sculpture
Photo: Ryan McCosham
John and Bonnie Buhler’s support for the creation of 'namaxsala is dedicated to all Canadians.
John and Bonnie Buhler Foundation Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba