Indigenous Artist Xwalacktun (Rick Harry) on Carving, Culture, and Purpose
Transcript for Indigenous Artist Xwalacktun (Rick Harry) on Carving, Culture, and Purpose
Rick Harry: I grew up with the name Rick Harry.
My real name is Xwalacktun, (speaking Indigenous language) means my name, Xwalacktun is my name.
Text on screen: Xwalacktun (Rick Harry)
Artist
Rick Harry: And I am (speaking Indigenous language) which I am a Squamish, but also on my mother's side, my mother is from the 'Namgis, which is the Alert Bay area, the 'Namgis people there. So that's a bit of my background. And I grew up here in Upper Squamish, where we have lots of stories. That's one of our oldest villages. And then we move, we moved back and forth around here in Vancouver.
Text on screen: Xwalacktun
Squamish and Kwakwaka'wakw sculptor and carver
Rick Harry: My older brother, he was probably about grade seven at the time, and I was, like, five years old. And I can recall climbing up to his top of his bunk bed and seeing his artwork that were taped on the wall. I said, "Wow, that looks cool." So, I been doing that for a while and I just realized that myself climbing down the the bunk bed, and I looked for paper and pencil and started drawing. I never stopped since.
But then when I turned 12, that's when I started learning how to carve. At that time they brought somebody from the north, from Alert Bay area. Brought him down and he taught us carving over a weekend. And ever since then I said, "I need to carve."
Hear that sound? The good sound of us slicing the wood.
I stop off and on. But by the time I was 18, I really started carrying it out from then.
When I started moving into some Indigenous art, I was doing northern styles. So, I saw the ovoids and U-shapes. So, I started creating that kind of work, did that for quite some time. But then, since 1990, I was moving into Salish art, but when I saw Charles Elliott's work, that's it. I said "This is what I need to do."
He didn't know he inspired me. But when I raised that big metal piece, I invited him to witness it. I said, "Charles, I'm inviting you because you inspired me to do this kind of work."
Text on screen: Photo by Zoe Lomoro, courtesy of Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
Courtesy of Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
Photo by Ryan Robinson, courtesy of Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
Rick Harry: I didn't know the identity of myself, really, in, in the art world, right, until after I started moving into the Salish design.
I had challenges, but I never looked at it as challenges. I just did the work. I just did the work. And, my father he says, "Well, if you do the work, just do it right. No half measures. You start something, finish it. Even if you're not going to do anything with it, just finish it." So, anything I do now, I just finish it, right. And over time, he says, "Don't worry about money. The money will come later. You do the work right, it'll pay off in the long run." And it does. I don't look for work. It comes to me.
At one time I used to just carve it and they look beautiful and I would sell it, but it had no backbone to it. But I realized there's gotta be more to this because, you know, like, a dancer wouldn't dance a mask unless there's song for it, a story for it and a message for it. So, I said, that's what I have to do. I gotta focus on this work. So, it carries on those backgrounds of who we really are.
So when they carry that work into their home, it's not just a piece of artwork. They have a story. It might even reflect in their own story of where they are in their life. Right? Because a lot of the stuff that are made, there is teachings and messages that went with it. So how can I use that message to carry it on in my life today and share it with the ones that are here and that aren't here yet?
Now that, developers are more focused on getting some Indigenous art while they're building it up. I said, we don't want the work away from the build. We actually want it to be part of the building, because this is, it's going to, it's a living art then, right? Because over time, if it's outside, it's going to come down sometime and they're going to move it away. So, it has to be part of the building. Right? Because we didn't have a word for art, there was a purpose for it.
Text on screen: Xwalacktun's work spans diverse mediums, including public art, sculpture, metalwork, jewelry, glasswork, drawing, printmaking, and his renowned wood carving.
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