Lyle Wilson
Haisla Nation
Born in 1955, Lyle Wilson is a Haisla artist from Kitamaat Village, which is near the town site of Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada. The Haisla Nation is often referred to as Northern Kwakwaka’wakw; however, their historic artistic style has influences from various sources – notably Kwakwaka’wakw and Tsimshian, as well as developing distinctive qualities of their own. The name Kitamaat means, “People of the Snow” and refers to the large amount of snow received by this region. Tsimshian people visiting the Haisla people in mid-winter arrived to see people emerging from big houses completely buried by the snow so the name Kitamaat seemed an appropriate description.
The Haisla Clan system is matrilineal and although he was born into the Beaver Clan, Lyle was formally adopted into his father’s Eagle Clan. Due to the high death rates at this time, his Eagle grandmother formally adopted both Lyle and his sister to help ensure the continuation of the Eagle Clan. This was a small but important event, which helped shape Lyle’s view of Haisla culture.
Lyle was always conscious and appreciative of Haisla art, which was present in his formative years. In this regard, his first artistic influence was his uncle, Sam Robinson, who is a full-time carver. Fascinated, Lyle watched him and occasionally whittled to the best of this abilities. He did not pursue art as a possible profession until he attended the University of British Columbia. At this time, he committed to a career in art education, but found time spent in the studio more compelling – eventually leaving to pursue his own artistic interests at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. He graduated with a diploma in printmaking and began to develop his individual style. This artistic style has its roots in graphics, but also envelopes his three-dimensional works in wood and jewelry.
Today, a renowned artist, Lyle works closely with University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology where he has further pursued his interest in replicating historic Haisla art for future generations to understand and visualize. Lyle has been involved with many important private and public commissions that have aided in the awareness of Haisla art.
Additionally, he has been involved in a number of group and solo exhibitions since 1981 both locally and abroad. Some of his public commissions can be viewed at the Museum of Anthropology, BC Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Consulate in Osaka, Japan, Canadian Institute for the Blind, EXPO 1992 and at the UBC First Nations House of Learning.
Works by this Artist (Present + Past + Public)
Present Works
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“A” Orca Pendant
Lyle Wilson
CA$400.00Sterling silver, 14K Yellow Gold, Engraved, Textured
“This group of pendants, brooches and earrings were inspired by an earlier painting of mine entitled ABC’s: Reconstituted, 2011. The subject matter is the English alphabet rendered in the Pacific Northwest Coast (PNC) formline style. It is my recognition that educational ideals are steadily becoming incorporated into the fabric of PNC people’s lives. That’s a good thing, and these jewelry pieces are my little way of recognizing the importance of continuing modern educational ideals.”
– Lyle Wilson, 2016
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Qolun (Beaver) Totem Pole
Lyle Wilson
Price upon requestYellow Cedar wood, Acrylic paint
This stunning pole was inspired by the story of how the Beaver Clan came to be part of the Haisla Nation. Each figure depicted on the pole represents an important episode in the journey that the characters in the story take. From top to bottom, the figures being depicted include a squirrel, a halibut, a giant man that is holding an otter, and two beavers.
This particular Haisla story is quite old, and Lyle is one of the few individuals who still knows all of the details. The pole is Lyle’s contemporary portrayal of the tale, which pays tribute to the ancient family connections between the present-day Haisla and their neighbors.
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Gax (Raven): Shamanic Version of Light
Lyle Wilson
Price upon requestMarine Ivory, Abalone shell
For more details on shipping Ivory outside of Canada, please click here and then click open the Shipping section and scroll down to read more on Shipping Restrictions.
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T́hax°an (Red Cod) Pendant
Lyle Wilson
CA$700.00Sterling silver, Engraved, Stippled, Textured
Sterling silver Omero chain available separately. -
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Eulachon Canoe Mountain [Framed]
Lyle Wilson
CA$715.00Intaglio Print on acid-free paper
Edition of 50
2016
13 x 11.5″ (Paper size)
7 x 5.25″ (Image size)
16.5 x 15 x 1.25″ (framed size)
“My first experience actually seeing traditional carving in situ was fishing eulachon at Kemano. I saw graveyard memorials (ah-aluuch-tin): grey, weather-beaten and somewhat moss-covered, but very impressive in their natural state and site. Although I didn’t know it at the time, it was part of the beginning of my life-long interest in Haisla culture.
The eulachon fish are special to the Haisla people. At Kitamaat, there is a mountain that has a dip in its outline which the Haisla liken to a canoe. When the sun set in this ‘canoe-dip,’ that signaled that the eulachon were about to spawn in the Kitamaat River and all the Haisla eagerly awaited them!
The wildlife that also pursued eulachon was a true natural phenomenon: eagles, seals, sea lions, crows, ravens, seagulls, otters, mink, sawbill ducks, halibut, porpoises, bullheads, and undoubtedly many others one couldn’t see! To represent all of these creatures in one image, a raven, seagull, sea lion and bullhead are shown, each with an eulachon close to their mouths.
The sea gull is important because Haisla history likened the thousands of gulls flying around the estuary of the Kitmaat River to a giant monster’s mouth; therefore, Kitamaat was a place avoided until the first Haisla settled there.
A young Haisla girl sat on the riverbank and watched as a bullhead waited on the river’s bottom and let the current sweep eulachon into its wide mouth. The traditional net (tak-calth) used to fish eulachon also has a wide mouth and also tapers to a narrow end like a bullhead’s body. A bullhead is shown with a net-like pattern on its body, alluding to the tak-calth’s inspiration.”
-Lyle Wilson, 2016
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Eulachon Canoe Mountain
Lyle Wilson
CA$425.00Intaglio Print on acid-free paper
Edition of 50
2016
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
13 x 11.5″ (Paper size)
7 x 5.25″ (Image size)
“My first experience actually seeing traditional carving in situ was fishing eulachon at Kemano. I saw graveyard memorials (ah-aluuch-tin): grey, weather-beaten and somewhat moss-covered, but very impressive in their natural state and site. Although I didn’t know it at the time, it was part of the beginning of my life-long interest in Haisla culture.
The eulachon fish are special to the Haisla people. At Kitamaat, there is a mountain that has a dip in its outline which the Haisla liken to a canoe. When the sun set in this ‘canoe-dip,’ that signaled that the eulachon were about to spawn in the Kitamaat River and all the Haisla eagerly awaited them!
The wildlife that also pursued eulachon was a true natural phenomenon: eagles, seals, sea lions, crows, ravens, seagulls, otters, mink, sawbill ducks, halibut, porpoises, bullheads, and undoubtedly many others one couldn’t see! To represent all of these creatures in one image, a raven, seagull, sea lion and bullhead are shown, each with an eulachon close to their mouths.
The sea gull is important because Haisla history likened the thousands of gulls flying around the estuary of the Kitmaat River to a giant monster’s mouth; therefore, Kitamaat was a place avoided until the first Haisla settled there.
A young Haisla girl sat on the riverbank and watched as a bullhead waited on the river’s bottom and let the current sweep eulachon into its wide mouth. The traditional net (tak-calth) used to fish eulachon also has a wide mouth and also tapers to a narrow end like a bullhead’s body. A bullhead is shown with a net-like pattern on its body, alluding to the tak-calth’s inspiration.” – Lyle Wilson, 2016
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Nanakwa (Dawn) Belt Buckle
Lyle Wilson
CA$3,400.00Sterling silver, 22K Yellow Gold, Engraved
Deeply Sculpted -
Halxinix’ (Orca) Belt Buckle
Lyle Wilson
CA$3,600.00Sterling silver, 18K Yellow Gold, Engraved
Deeply Sculpted -
“After the Ancients” Bracelet
Lyle Wilson
Price upon requestSterling silver, Textured, Engraved, Repoussé, Chased
Hinged with Sterling silver Catch
2015“Exploring one’s roots brings a healthy appreciation of one’s place in the scheme of things. The Pacific Northwest Coast (PNC) formline has undergone changes over the passage of time. What I wanted to do was to pay homage to that earlier, cleaner, straightforward, massive look of PNC art because it captures the sense of that era’s time. I learned from what work they left behind and so it impacts the work I do today.
In this bracelet, a mixture of modern techniques – repoussé, chasing, engraving, texturing, fabrication – has been added to a deceptively simple facial image that’s present on early traditional bent-boxes; a face thought to represent a supernatural guardian of any treasures contained within the box.
For me, and for this exhibition, this style of PNC imagery depiction on a bracelet seemed to be something that had a sense of inevitability because I have such admiration and respect for ancient PNC artists”
-Lyle Wilson, 2016
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Iksduq’iya & Qolun (Eagle & Beaver) Box
Lyle Wilson
Price upon requestSterling Silver, Engraved and Textured on Hollow-ware2015
“My father’s Eagle Clan adopted me, but I was actually born into my mother’s Beaver Clan. Since the Haisla followed a matrilineal system, whereby every child was automatically included into its mother’s clan, my unusual adoption was due to the circumstances of the Eagle Clan having so many of its members die. Due to the early and unfamiliar diseases, everyone feared the clan would eventually become extinct.
I’ve always loved the look of a full-size, traditional wooden bent-box and liked the idea of a smaller, silver box using the same traditional proportions. It adds a unique sculptural look to any small box which, once seen, becomes a more appreciated detail with every subsequent examination. The box’s construction technique is very deceptive; it looks solid but is actually a box-within-a-box, with the hollow spaces between each ‘box’ allowing for visually thicker walls. For this box, I decided to honor my connections to both Haisla Clans – Beaver and Eagle – by engraving each on one-half of the box. The box’s lid has another Eagle engraved on the top, and the Halibut, a sub-crest shared by both clans, is engraved around the edges.”
-Lyle Wilson, 2016
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Ovoid Origin Sculpture
Lyle Wilson
CA$5,400.00Warlus tusk (Ivory), Yew wood, Abalone shell
For more details on shipping Ivory outside of Canada, please click here and then click open the Shipping section and scroll down to read more on Shipping Restrictions.
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The Swimmers Pin/Pendant
Lyle Wilson
CA$4,000.00Platinum, Abalone shell, Cast, Engraved, Textured
Edition 14/14
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Qolun (Beaver) Pin/Pendant
Lyle Wilson
CA$1,000.00Sterling silver, Cast, Engraved, Textured
Edition of 14
2013
“The Beaver was my original clan but I was adopted into my father’s Eagle Clan because it was thought that it might become extinct; many Eagle Clan members died due to having no immunity to early European diseases.
The wild beaver seems to understand an old, but true, Haisla proverb: ‘If you work hard today, you will have plenty tomorrow.’ Or perhaps it was actually my ancestors who came to understand, emulate and respect the working habits of this industrious little animal enough to create the original Haisla Beaver Clan.”
-Lyle Wilson, 2016
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Ḡax̄ (Raven) Pendant
Lyle Wilson
CA$1,200.00Sterling silver, Repousse, Chased, Engraved, Textured
2015
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Qolun (Beaver) Pendant
Lyle Wilson
CA$1,200.00Sterling silver, Repousse, Chased, Engraved, Textured
2015
Past Works
The artist’s Past Works at our Gallery have now sold; however, a custom order may be possible if the artist is available and accepting commissions.