A Brush with Yahgulanaas

Exhibit dates: January 8–31, 2026

First Thursday Art Walk / Opening Reception: Jan 8, 5-8pm

Stonington Gallery

125 South Jackson Street
Seattle, Washington 98104
Located in Historic Pioneer Square

Exhibition description:

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Haida) is a Vancouver-based multimedia Haida artist whose work merges formline with the visual language of contemporary comics, a hybrid style he terms Haida Manga. Raised on Delkatla, Haida Gwaii within a distinguished lineage of Haida artists — including Delores Churchill, Isabella Edenshaw, and Charles Edenshaw — Yahgulanaas was introduced to traditional iconography by his cousin Robert Davidson, a central figure in the modern revival of Haida art. After apprenticing with Davidson, Yahgulanaas pursued an independent path that expanded Haida visual traditions into narrative, sequential, and spatial forms.

The works in this exhibition span watercolor and ink drawings and paintings from across Yahgulanaas’ career. Early projects such as A Tale of Two Shamans (c. 1999) explore Haida cosmology through scenes of transformation and consequence, while later works, including Packing Old Bill’s Pole (2015), reflect on artistic legacy and the tension between art and ethnicity.

Central to Yahgulanaas’ practice is an investigation of sequence and continuity. In works such as Red: A Haida Manga, traditional formlines function as gutters — the spaces between panels where time and meaning accumulate. These lines flow across pages and can be assembled into a continuous mural, challenging Western linear narratives and aligning with Northwest Coast traditions of integrated image, story, and space. Across these works, Yahgulanaas invites viewers to become active participants, dwelling in the spaces between and claiming responsibility in the unfolding of meaning.

ROCKING RAVEN (CC4507-11), Lousy Tale series

Ink on paper, 14 1/4" H × 10" W

UNTITLED (CC4508-6), tones series.

Watercolour and ink on paper, 13" H × 10 3/8" W