Hmmmm, do we look at the work of Anida Yoeu Ali, Connie Sabo, Jerry Whitehead or maybe Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun? Ya, let’s look at Lawrence Paul’s work. Yuxweluptun, a mouthful of a last name, and hardly anyone pronounces it correctly is a masterful painter and an exciting contemporary artist. He busted the glass ceiling for young first nations artists to play in the field of contemporary art: ie. Sonny Assu, Brian Jungen, Charlene Vickers etc. Here are a few photos of the drawings collected over the years — couldn’t afford his paintings for sure but delighted to have these ink and pen drawings. True hand of the artist!!

The above catalogs and images are part of the story of this artist’s work entering my life. The catalogs are worth the read to get insight into LPY’s work and the Salmon Head is one of the first pieces that came into my collection; it was a post-Grunt Gallery sell out fundraiser work commissioned. The last piece is a forest spirit that is one of the later pieces that entered my world.

LPY, when I first learnt about him, was being referred to as “The Angry Inidan” so immediately I was intrigued. Hmmm, who is this artist and what is he angry about? I am indebted to my time at the Vancouver Art Gallery for this is where I learnt, what I should have in school. It was at the VAG that I learnt of the atrocities endured by the first nation people here in Canada and began to understand why LPY was angry.

Fortunate enough to hear him speak I found I was not offended by what was often perceived as very direct unapologetic harsh language directed at the English, the colonizers and pretty much any one none Indigenous. My Croatian background prepared me for direct harsh language so I looked beyond that to try to understand what he was saying. I figured it was kind of a performance piece that went with his work. LPY bravely paved the way for contemporary artists who were using their Indigenous vocabulary and cohort experience to blast the world with reality. Wow, this guy is for me!!

I did not anticipate ever being able to afford his work until I met Chantelle from Frame of Mind, next to the Grunt Gallery. She showed me a drawing by LPY, she had suggested he do to make his work more accessible to the everyman, it was exquisite. I was with Mom at her framing shop when she showed me a tree he had drawn. I loved it and so did Mom — when I looked at it the thought crossed my mind that the tree was pregnant, little did I know that later I would discover sure enough his partner was actually pregnant with their to be daughter. It was expensive, as a new collector I thought it was at any rate. To purchase it for myself was “too much” BUT to buy it as a gift for my mother, well that was a different story. hahaha I was going down the collecting rabbit hole. Long story short I bought it and after that felt well if Mom has one well then I should too. That just grew and here are the results.

As you can see the Pregnant tree is not in this mix, if you ask real nice I might just give you a personal tour to see her. However, here you have Porcupine trees, Salomon eye divided tree, Old growth mama tree and Presence among the shadow and cloud tree — these are all named by me. My plan has been to drag Lawrence over to ask for his insight into the drawings but it just hasn’t happened yet so you’ll have to settle for my titles until then.

I’m grateful to have them and share them with you. These trees, like ones in nature, just keep giving!! Please look up Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and broaden your world. I look forward to your sharing what you’ve found fascinating about him and/or his work. To a gem of a human being living on the planet with us!! Cheers!!