a:sum tu kwulasun, tun’ni u’ tatulut kwsu sulsalewh ct (look at the stars, learn from our ancestors) was exhibited on the Marine Drive Canada Line Station from June 2024 - June 2025.
“It is a privilege to live and to share my work on the territories of my relatives, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ peoples, I want to hold my hands up to them and acknowledge them first.
This installation is a collage of Coast Salish narratives about joy, connection to place, cosmology, and the love of our ancestors. I have spent a lot of time recently looking at historical works of Coast Salish art that our ancestors made and in doing so I have been reminded of the strength of who we are and the strength of our stories. When I look at Coast Salish art that is anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years old, I see a continuous flow of thought and visual language that connects through to the work done by relations and fellow artists now.
Through this piece, I am celebrating the commonalities of culture, story, and lived experience between us as Coast Salish peoples and asking myself what it means to carry Coast Salish art as a xwulmuxw today.”