Into the Woods: Forests of the Northwest Coast

December -January

Forests have many faces: they are backdrops for epic journeys, where people become lost or found; places of transformation where what goes in is not the same as what comes out; places where our imaginations run wild and we face our own darkness, myths and secrets. Great mythological beings that inhabit these forests are as complex and fascinating as the web of life they live within. In much of Northwest Coast mythology they are places where animals and human-kind meet, clash, transform, and where the prey/predator divide is stark. The forest is a mighty meeting place: rivers and streams meet the roots of tremendous trees, salmon meet bears, nutrients are sucked up into the trees, and cycles continue. Forests drape the feet of mountains like skirts, connecting lowlands and alpine pinnacles, creating liminal spaces between the two where species and ecosystems change with every foot of altitude. At times, the woods are calming and peaceful, where we find communion with nature, animals, solitude; or they can be frightening, bewildering, without friend or end.

Exhibition Dates: