The exceptional quality of Beau Dick's artistry is undoubtedly rooted in his multi-faceted connection and involvement with his Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw culture. Initiated as Hamat'sa Dancer himself, the spectacle of the cultural dances besieged and ignited Dick’s imagination, inspiring him to create works marked with a sense of drama. Dick intimately understood that mask making was a vital expression of his culture and that each creation should have the capacity to come alive in the flickering firelight of a potlatch or other ceremonial events.

In the present Ba̱k’wa̱s Mask, the artist has fully harnessed the visceral and palpable energy of these dances, shaping the elements of this almost 3 ft mask with a reverent yet bold hand to create a work that seems to pulse with an eerie vitality. Amidst the diverse array of stylistic expressions found across the Northwest Coast, Dick's mask captures many of archetypal features of Ba̱k’wa̱s with striking clarity. The eyes are carved with pupils that are round and arresting; the hooked, almost skeletal nose mirrors the fierce beak of a predatory bird; the lips, drawn taut, unveil a menacing and toothy grin.

Long, untamed hair frames the mask and both intensifies its feral aspect and acknowledges the hair-covered costumes dancers don when portraying Ba̱k’wa̱s. The extended eyebrow hairs are possibly Dick's own artistic interpretation of the traditional massive slanting eyebrows that are typical in Ba̱k’wa̱s masks. They may also serve as an homage to performances, again referencing the elaborate costumes worn while also invoking Ba̱k’wa̱s's shy disposition, alluding to the gesture of dancers who shield their face with a forearm to portray Ba̱k’wa̱s's timidity.

The skeletal figure affixed atop the mask likely carries a dual significance. Articulated with leather and pins, its macabre form and humanoid skull-knees – which cleverly hinge at the jaws – are reminiscent of other puppet figures crafted by the artist. This may be understood as a reference to Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw tradition of puppetry that is intricately linked to their ceremonies of potlatching and the hosting of feasts. It may also be interpreted as a grim tribute to the souls captured by Ba̱k’wa̱s; those deceived into accepting his treacherous offerings—rotten wood, maggots, snakes, or lizards masquerading as dried salmon. To accept this sinister gift from Ba̱k’wa̱s is to seal one's destiny, morphing the individual into a ghostly figure, eternally bound to Ba̱k’wa̱s.

Surely amongst the most impressive and significant examples of this subject in his oeuvre, the masterful creation of this large Ba̱k’wa̱s Mask is a convergence of artistry and tradition. Its fine symmetry and the intricate carving of the deeply recessed folds and other details that cast haunting shadows, heighten its dramatic impact. Its deep, almost blood-like red hues, accented with black – a signature palette of the artist – create a formidable visual intensity.

References: For a similar work, see Ba̱k’wa̱s, 2016 in LaTiesha Fazakas, et. al., Beau Dick: Devoured by Consumerism, (Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2019), p. 63. See also Bookwus, 2014, in the exhibition Beau Dick: John at Fazakas Gallery, 2021, https://fazakasgallery.com/exhibitions/18/works/artworks-11986-beau-dick-bookwus-2014, Accessed 29 March 2024. For stylistically similar works, see a mask of the ‘companion’ to Ba̱k’wa̱s, Dzunuḵ̓wa (Wild Woman of the Woods), 2007, illustrated in Darrin J. Martens, Beau Dick: Revolutionary Spirit, (Vancouver: Figure.1 Publishing / Whistler: Audain Art Museum, 2018), pl. A, p. 37, also on the book’s cover. For another, earlier example of a Ba̱k’wa̱s Mask by the artist, see First Arts, 21 March 2024, Lot 7. In the Museum of Anthropology at UBC there is a similarly constructed “puppet”, item no. Nb3.1404 by the artist, which is illustrated in Martens, 2018, pl. B, p. 100-1. See also Beau Dick, Winalagalis (War Spirit) Puppet, 2015, in LaTiesha Fazakas, et. al., 2019, p. 57 and in Martens, 2018, pl. A, p. 97-99. See the section “Puppets” in Martens, 2018, p. 96; see also “Supernatural Treasures” in Audrey Hawthorn, Kwakiutl Art, (Vancouver: Museum of Anthropology, UBC, 1988), pp. 89-93 for additional information on puppets in Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw culture. For an early Ba̱k’wa̱s mask by the artist with two skull ‘rattles’ see LaTiesha Fazakas, et. al., 2019, p. 65.