Yuxweluptun’s ink drawings “Walking Spirit” and “Spirit in Landscape” (Lot 5) illustrate the development of his characters that occupy his surrealist works. He invented these figures with combinations of human bodies, often wearing western clothing and even business suits, and the heads with motifs derived from Northwest Coast Indigenous art. The artist has stated that incorporating the traditional Northwest Coast style into his work has enabled him to represent what he calls “the imaginary Indian” or “the symbolic Native.” Rather than representing real people from any particular culture, Yuxuweluptun created these imaginary characters as a comment on the way in which Native identity has been constructed from outside perspectives.
