Chief Beau Dick (First Nations Canadian, Kwakwaka'wakw, 1955-2017) "Pookmis Mask," ca. 2000 CE. An evocative cedar wood mask depicting the sea spirit Pookmis or Pookoobs (a drowned whaler or Wild Man of the Sea), painted white with dog or wolf fur serving as the coiffure and facial hair. The stylized visage features a furrowed brow, a curved, beak-like nose, layered gills along the cheeks, and dramatic, pouting lips that extend forward. Pookmis is associated with healing or resurrection, and known to the Haida as Gagiid, and to the Tlingit as Land Otter. To the Nuu-Chah-Nulth he is referred to as the Drowned Fisherman / Whaler Spirit. It is said that when a whaler drowns at sea, Pookmis swallows their spirit and carries it back to their home village, then blows it back out during the memorial ceremony. The interior is signed by renowned master carver Beau Dick. Size: 11" L x 11" W x 13" H (27.9 cm x 27.9 cm x 33 cm)

Beau Dick (Walas Gwa'yam) was a chief of the Kwakwaka'wakw (Musgamakw Dzawada'enuxw First Nation) as well as an artist and activist who was acclaimed as one of the Northwest Coast's most versatile and talented carvers. He was born in the community of Alert Bay, BC, and lived in Kingcome Inlet, Vancouver, and Victoria before returning to Alert Bay to live and work. He began carving at an early age, studying under his father, Benjamin Dick, his grandfather, James Dick, and other renowned artists such as Henry Hunt and Doug Cranmer. He also worked alongside master carvers Robert Davidson, Tony Hunt, and Bill Reid.

In support of the Idle No More movement, Dick performed two spiritual and political Copper-breaking ceremonies on the steps of the British Columbia legislature in Victoria in 2013, and on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 2014. Dick created several important public works, including a transformation mask for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 86 in Vancouver and the Ga'akstalas Totem Pole for Stanley Park, carved with Wayne Alfred and raised in 1991.

His work has been shown in exhibitions around the world, including Canada House, London, UK (1998); the 17th Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2010); documenta 14 in Athens, GR, and Kassel, DE (2017); and White Columns, New York (2019). He was the recipient of the 2012 VIVA Award and was artist-in-residence at the University of British Columbia's Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory from 2013 to 2017." (Fazakas Gallery)

Provenance: private Thornton, Colorado, USA collection

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#182044

Signed by artist with date on interior. Some minor abrasions to surface, but otherwise intact and excellent. Suspension wire on verso for easy display.