Tanis, Simon Dick was born in Alert Bay in 1951 and raised in Kingcome Inlet. He was raised speaking the Kwakwaka’wakw language and participating in ceremonies as an artist and dancer. His contemporary style is a mix of washes and bleeds of colour blended with traditional formline, which he credits to his observations as a dancer and observer of masks seen by firelight. He is also interested in birds, which are less documented in traditional stories. This has offered him artistic licence to capture their plumage and colour in masks. He often uses feathers as well cedar bark to dress his masks and headdresses. Simon Dick has travelled to the Amazon rainforest with the musician Sting as an artist and activist, supporting protection and awareness of rainforest destruction. He was commissioned to construct the massive Thunderbird canopy for the public amphitheatre at the Canadian Pavilion at Expo ‘86 in Vancouver.

Gary Wyatt

“The Egret is a relative of the Heron, which has a much more prominent position in Northwest Coast mythology. The Egret is a very elusive bird and is rarely seen by people. My first attraction to the Egret was seeing its coloration, which is identical to the green, grey and brown commonly used by southern Kwakwaka’wakw artists.” (Words of the artist in Gary Wyatt, Mythic Beings, (1999), p. 44.