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dataNM[1] = new data("images/collaboration/nm01_l.jpg","<font><strong>Marianne Nicolson</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;April 2001<br><br>Ms. Nicolson in one of her favorite Polaroids<br><br>&quot;I was born in Comox B.C. in 1969. I am from the Dzawada'enuxw Tribe of the Kwakwak'awakw Nation. A painter and a photographer, I completed a Masters Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Victoria. I have been trained in our traditional Kwakwakw'awakw cultural forms and traditions. As a result my artwork is a combination of traditional forms and contemporary constructs.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[2] = new data("images/collaboration/nm02_l.jpg","<font>The Entrance to Heaven<br>58&quot; x 66&quot; x 3&quot;<br>Acrylic paint on wood<br><br>&quot;This painting is one of a series of works based on the format of a traditional Northwest Coast button blanket. In these works I chose to substitute wood and paint for cloth and buttons. The painting depicts a spirit figure within a doorway. A double-headed sea serpent called 'sisiutl' surrounds the figure. On the red borders are coppers referred to as 'tlak'wa' in the Kwak'wala language.<br><br>The text in translation reads:<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;Each night brings death, each morning rebirth.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;I am traveling about the world, traveling from place to place.<br><br>The entrance to heaven refers to the idea of a place where the physical world and the spirit world are joined. This is where one can pass through from world to the other. This occurs at birth, at death and certain times in life when the settings are deemed appropriate.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[3] = new data("images/collaboration/nm03_l.jpg","<font>Waxemedlagin Xusbandayu (2)<br>(translation: Even Though I am the Last One, I Still Count)<br>59.5” x 43.5”<br>2000<br><br>&quot;This is one of two paintings in a series. They were created to be exhibited with my grandfathers' bumblebee masks. The masks are in the collection of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. The bumblebee masks belong to a dance performed by children. In our legends the bumblebee volunteered to be the caretaker (or babysitter) for the child of Tsekame (Head Winter Dancer). During the dance performance that refers to this story a father bee and a mother bee lead progressively smaller bees one by one onto the dance floor, sometimes up to sixteen children. They wear brightly painted bumblebee masks with stingers. At the end of the dance all of the children are led back into the beehive, however, one is missing. The father bee circles the floor four times until this child is finally found and reunited with his or her family. This dance is an expression regarding the care and value of children in our traditional culture.<br><br>In this painting two 'sisiutl' form the upper and bottom borders of the work. They represent the crossbeams of a traditional Big House. Four ravens form the sides. They represent the house posts. The raven's tail forms the faces of two bumblebees, the mother and the father. The interior image is of my Mother and my youngest Aunt. My Auntie Emily was the youngest of sixteen children. The surrounding landscape is of the islands outside of Gwa'yas'dams, or Gilford Village, one of our ancestral communities. The border photographs are of children dancing the bumblebee at my Uncle Ernie Willie's potlatch in 1998.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[4] = new data("images/collaboration/nm04_l.jpg","<font>Waxemedlagin Xusbandayu (1)<br>(translation: Even Though I am the Last One, I Still Count)<br>59.5” x 43.5”<br>2000<br><br>&quot;This is one of two paintings in a series. They were created to be exhibited with my grandfathers' bumblebee masks. The masks are in the collection of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. The bumblebee masks belong to a dance performed by children. In our legends the bumblebee volunteered to be the caretaker (or babysitter) for the child of Tsekame (Head Winter Dancer). During the dance performance that refers to this story a father bee and a mother bee lead progressively smaller bees one by one onto the dance floor, sometimes up to sixteen children. They wear brightly painted bumblebee masks with stingers. At the end of the dance all of the children are led back into the beehive, however, one is missing. The father bee circles the floor four times until this child is finally found and reunited with his or her family. This dance is an expression regarding the care and value of children in our traditional culture.<br><br>In this painting two 'sisiutl' form the upper and bottom borders of the work. They represent the crossbeams of a traditional Big House. Four wolves form the sides. They represent the house posts. The wolf's tail forms the faces of two bumblebees, the mother and the father. The interior image is of my aunts and uncles as young children. The surrounding image is of old growth trees near Gwa-yi, Kingcome Village, our home community. The border photographs are of children dancing the bumblebee at my Uncle Ernie Willie's potlatch in 1998. Some of the masks used at that potlatch were created by my Uncle Don; the small boy pictured on the left in the central image.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[5] = new data("images/collaboration/nm05_l.jpg","<font>Xesu'gwilakw Gave Birth to a Girl<br>(translation: La mayulide Xesu'gwilakw t'sat'sadagame)<br>58&quot; x 66&quot; x 3&quot;<br>1999<br><br>&quot;In 1999, my sister Kristine, whose Kwak'wala name is Xesu'gwilakw gave birth to her first child, a girl. The painting refers to this personal event but also more generally to the strength of the women of the Dzawada'enuxw People. The painting depicts a wolf giving birth to a child. The wolf is a reference to the original ancestor of the Dzawada'enuxw People. This painting is one of a series of paintings based on the formal characteristics of traditional Northwest Coast button blankets. Women primarily made Button blankets. Painted on the outside red borders are button work symbols representing the mountains which surround Gwa-yi (Kingcome Village) and the sun, a symbol of new life and regeneration. The text in translation reads:<br>The women dancers are the mothers of my people. They carry all the Winter Dances<br><br>The text refers to the fact that it was through the women that cultural property was inherited. Traditionally, when a woman married she brought with her a dowry of cultural property. That property was not for her husband's possession but meant to become the inheritance of their anticipated children.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[6] = new data("images/collaboration/nm06_l.jpg","<font>Descended From Heaven<br>62&quot; x 62&quot;<br>1999<br><br>&quot;This is from a series of large scale paintings done on canvas. They are inspired from the painted screens used during our potlatch ceremonials called ma'wil or tla'milas. Usually, the painted screen is raised between the main dance area and the back room where dancers prepare for their performances. Conceptually, it represents the division between the spiritual realm and the physical. Traditionally, the painted screen depicts the ancestor or associated family crests of the family hosting the potlatch.<br><br>I created these paintings as loose canvases and then mounted them as paintings on stretchers after completion. Since the final objective was a visual, western based painting and not a traditional object I felt more at ease to experiment with the forms and expressions. This painting depicts the original ancestors of the Dzawada'enuxw and the Hax'wamis People. They were two brothers who descended from the mountains in the form of wolves. As they became human the oldest brother Kawadilikala, chose Gwa'yi, or Kingcome Inlet as his home and the younger brother Kwa'lili, chose Atl'axu, or Wakeman Sound as his home.<br><br>They carry a copper shield and red cedar bark ring. The copper refers to wealth and inheritance and the red cedar bark refers to the winter ceremonial. Two double headed sea serpents or sisiutl surrounds them. Six sets of mountains divided by a river and four 'trees of life' are depicted in copper button work along the sides. Descended from Heaven refers to both the descent of these two ancestors from the mountain and to the lineage and descent of family amongst the Dzawada'enuxw People.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[7] = new data("images/collaboration/nm07_l.jpg","<font>Spirits Rising<br>62&quot; x 62&quot;<br>1999<br><br>&quot;In the Kwakwak'awakw winter ceremonial there is a dance performed called the Tuk'wid. In this dance a woman appears and when questioned calls up her supernatural power. Power boards or spirit boards are one form of supernatural power that a tuk'wid dancer may show. Sitting in the Big House and witnessing one of these performances during one of my relatives' potlatches, I felt the desire to depict the power and presence of these spirit boards.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[8] = new data("images/collaboration/nm08a_l.jpg","<font>Cliff Painting<br>38' x 28'<br>1998<br><br>&quot;Located in Kingcome Inlet this painting was completed in 1998. It was created to recognize the connection of the Dzawada'enuxw People to their home territory. The painting depicts a large copper. Within the upper shield portion is the wolf Kawadilikala, the original ancestor of the Dzawada'enuxw. He brings a treasure box down with him from the mountains.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[9] = new data("images/collaboration/nm09_l.jpg","<font>Cliff Painting (con't.)<br>38' x 28'<br>1998<br><br>&quot; . . . The box rests on his back and on the front of the box is the image of the sun. The sun appears to be rising up from behind Kawadilikala's back and signifies hope for the future. The four stars on the lower portion of the copper symbolize the four tribes of the Musgamagw Dzawada'euxw Nations.&quot;</font>")
dataNM[10] = new data("images/collaboration/nm10_l.jpg","<font>&quot;The objective of my trip to New York and Washington as part of the Smithsonian Fellowship Program was to review Kwakwakw'awakw collections dating from the beginning of the last century. Having an interest in the older painting styles of the Kwakwakw'awakw, I had the desire to view as many examples of the works collected from this time period, particularly button blankets and aprons. Without a doubt viewing these objects will inspire the creation of new works.&quot;</font>")

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