Image credit: Farah Nosh
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas was born in 1954 in Masset, Haida Gwaii. A descendant of iconic artists Isabella Edenshaw, Charles Edenshaw and Delores Churchill, Yahgulanaas' early training was under the exceptional creators and master carvers of Haida Gwaii. His work is collected internationally, including The British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum and Vancouver Art Gallery. Large sculptural works by Yahgulanaas are part of the public art collection of the Vancouver International Airport, City of Vancouver, City of Kamloops and University of British Columbia. His publications include national bestsellers Flight of the Hummingbird, RED: a Haida Manga and the upcoming War of the Blink.
Yahgulanaas' artwork transcends traditional notions of Northwest Coast art. He incorporates his background in traditional Haida art with Asian influences such as Chinese brushwork and Japanese manga comics to create what he calls 'Haida Manga'. A piece from Yahgulanaas' 'Coppers from the Hood' series was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is currently the only work on display at the Met by a living Canadian indigenous artist.