Whale surfaces at First Peoples House

The university’s most distinctive new building now has a unique piece of art rising from the pond outside its windows. A cast bronze sculpture of a grey whale’s tail poised to slap the water, by Northwest Coast artists Calvin Hunt and John Livingston, was unveiled at the First Peoples House open house celebrations on April 9.

The 636-kilogram sculpture, nearly two metres high, was cast from a full-size red cedar carving by Hunt and Livingston. Artisan Norm Boulet supervised the mold making, assembly of six section castings and finishing of the bronze work.

From the glass-front reading room, students have an unobstructed view of the glossy black sculpture, which is sited to give the impression that the whale is diving under the House. “It provides a focus for the public platform and amphitheatre that overlooks the water feature on the west side of the house,” says UVic’s art collections director Martin Segger.

Other works of art in First Peoples House include welcome figures at the building’s eastern entrance carved from yellow cedar by Doug LaFortune (Tsawout) and contemporary house posts inside the main entrance by Charles Elliott (Tsartlip). Xwa-lack-tun (Squamish Nation) carved the doors to the ceremonial hall, which feature designs of a Thunderbird and Salmon on the exterior and Thunderbird and Killerwhale on the interior. Coast Salish artists Rande Cook, Moy Sutherland and Luke Marston contributed the designs for the sandblasted and hand- painted red cedar panels set on cedar beams that punctuate the walls of the ceremonial hall, while screenprints by a number of renowned Coast Salish, Salish and Cowichan artists hang in the building’s main corridor.

A binder containing profiles of the artists and descriptions of their work is available inside First Peoples House at the Office of Indigenous Affairs reception desk during business hours. For more information, contact the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery at 250-721-6562.