Page 315 - YGARTUA: Magnum Opus - volume three

Hilistis. Of the mural, “I came thinking I was and my involvement became more about

painting the wall of a fishing lodge, this has looking into the history, culture, and traditions

turned into a mammoth project!” “We’ve of the Heiltsuk People. This was all before I

created something that I never thought in my could even begin painting! I became a part of

lifetime that I could feel a part of for the rest it like I never believed I could with a mural.

of my life. It became a community project of It will remain with me for the rest of my life.

research, and of finding the right faces and It was a very dramatic emotional experience

stories. Can you imagine (the difficulty) in for everyone involved. It was like a spiritual

finding the right faces, headgear and robes? rebirth and I will never forget it.” Of the day’s

Not to mention putting them on faces that never ceremonies Ygartua said “Today reminds me

ever wore those because it was illegal, so were of my family’s Basque fiestas in the northern

potlatches, and so many customs and traditions. Spanish countryside; we all get together, we

So we had to research the backgrounds of each have a party, and there are no strangers. To me

individual Chief. It became an immense project, there is nothing better than being here today”

NATIVE HERITAGE, 1983 MURAL 15.4X5.2M | 50X20 FT

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