Artist Information
Artist
Moy Sutherland ("Hiish-miik" and "Chioton" aka Morris Sutherland Jr.)Role
ArtistDate made
2023Time Period
21st CenturyNotes
ARTIST STATEMENT
“For me, the meaning of life is to learn of my cultural surroundings, so that this knowledge can be preserved and used in everyday life. Like our elders before us who passed this knowledge on, so must we to our descendants. In this manner, respect becomes an integral part of life: respect for everything. I draw my knowledge and inspiration from the teachings of those I respect. I incorporate these teachings into all that I do.“
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Ahousaht, Flores Island (west Vancouver Island), B.C., Moy Sutherland is a multi-media Nuuchahnulth* First Nations artist now based in Victoria, BC. He carries two traditional names stemming from his background: his Nuuchahnulth name is Hiish-miik and his Coast Salish name is Chioton. As a young man he worked in the forests of B.C. and grew up immersed in Nuuchahnulth traditions, art and culture that continue to inspire his art.
Sutherland began his artistic career in Alert Bay in 1995, learning the principals of carving from Coast Salish carver Joe Wilson and later from his uncle, carver Mark Mickey, in Port Alberni. In 1997 Sutherland worked in Sooke, B.C. with Kwakwaka'wakw artist Carey Newman to learn the basics of jewelry making. He then began work on a degree in anthropology, until initiating an apprenticeship with world-renowned Nuuchahnulth artist Arthur Thompson (1948-2003) in 2000, continuing to work together until Thompson’s death. The influence and lessons of his mentor and friend remain a large influence on Sutherland’s art.
Altogether, these experiences gave him a deep understanding of Northwest Coast Art, and deeply inform his practice of carving, sculpture, jewellery-making, totem pole carving, bentwood box-making, mask-making and more. Sutherland enjoys working with and combining different materials, and he sets himself apart through exploration of different media, such as gem setting in gold and silver and silkscreen prints. He has also produced large-scale works in stone, as well as totem poles and canoes. For Sutherland, his art is fully rooted in his culture. Sutherland’s work can be found in galleries, museums and private collections across Canada and beyond.
*The Nuuchahnulth, formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht or Tahkaht, are one of the First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuuchahnulth, meaning " all along the mountains and sea" and used as a collective term of identification, was chosen in 1979 by the thirteen tribes whose traditional home is the western coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. The Makah of northwest Washington are also Nuuchahnulth.
