A new display of artwork from the Yukon Permanent Art Collection has been installed in the Legislative Assembly Chamber for the 2024 Spring Sitting.
List of artwork in order from the south side of Chamber, moving counter clockwise:
Slippers by Mary Caesar (2006) - Home tan moose hide, beads, beaver fur
Mary Caesar was born into the Kaska First Nation and is a lifelong resident of Upper Liard, Yukon. She is a painter and beadwork artist, who creates artwork based on observations of her culture, home, and her experiences as a First Nation woman, and from her time at the Lower Post, BC residential school. For Mary, her artwork is an important part of her healing journey.
Talking Mask by Christina Peters (2002) - Birch, horsehair, acrylic
Christina Peters is an artist of Tutchone and Tlingit ancestry and a member of the Crow Clan. She learned the fundamentals of carving from her uncle, Master Carver Stan Peters and refined her style while working with well-known Yukon carver Alex Dickson. While her work is based on traditional Tlingit style carving, her creations reveal unique elements of realism.
Sixth Shaman by Kenneth Coyne (2002) - Steel, metal, stone
Kenneth Coyne is a Kwanlin Dün First Nation artist working in photography and sculpture, which he creates from salvaged and new materials. Kenneth enjoys making sculptures as a way of connecting to his past. He works slowly, taking time to create his work. Like him, this Shaman is patient. He’s not the first or second, but the Sixth, and is happy with that.
Raven Mask by Eugene Alfred (2004) - Birch, acrylic, leather, sinew, bead
Eugene Alfred is a Northern Tutchone and Tlingit carver from the Crow clan of the Selkirk First Nation. He works with various types of wood and creates works that reflect both sides of his heritage. Raven Mask is an example of Eugene’s exceptional ability to create interwoven designs, perfectly formed carved lines and surfaces.
Dakwäkãda Warriors Graphic Novel Originals by Cole Pauls (2016-2018) - Ink on paper
Cole Pauls is a Champagne and Aishihik Citizen and Tahltan comic artist, illustrator and printmaker from Haines Junction, currently living in Vancouver. He incorporates Southern Tutchone language, traditions, and culturally significant elements in his work, striving to create something authentic to his experiences and to the Yukon.
Sheep Horn Spoon by Keith Wolfe Smarch (1985) - Sheep horn, abalone, ivory
Keith Wolfe Smarch was born into the Eagle-Killer Whale clan of the Tlingit Nation in Whitehorse. He is of Tlingit, Tagish, German and English ancestry and belongs to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. Inspired by the stories, songs and dances of his people, Keith expresses them in ivory, bone, horn, metals and wood. Keith is now the lead carver for the Carcross/Tagish First Nation carving program where he oversees large-scale carving projects.
Untitled Beading by Fanny Charlie (1982) - Beads on stroud
Fanny Charlie is a renowned Vuntut Gwich’in Elder artist. Born in 1922, she lived her whole life in Old Crow. She was self-taught, creating her own designs, and was widely regarded as one of the Yukon’s finest beadwork artists. Her work is known for its unparalleled perfection and beauty and is highly sought-after. This piece is a wonderful example of the iconic beadwork of this region, featuring bold floral designs, symmetry, and impeccable technique. Fanny Charlie passed in 2017.