The Artist
"Over the years, it really seems that a guiding hand is directing me to create a tableau, portraying nomadic people - with their differences and similarities".

Faces have haunted Paul Ygartua throughout his artistic life. They have also brought him international recognition. His travels to Europe, South America, and Western Canada have led him to paint the strength, dignity, and struggle of native and ethnic peoples of the world.

Ygartua is of Basque heritage, but was born in northern England. He earned a degree in Industrial Design from Liverpool College, and is a member of the Guild of Gold and Silversmithing. His beginnings as a jewellery designed soon gave way to the more powerful images of the first peoples he is now known for.

He won universal acclaim for his Native Heritage series, and his paintings have been exhibited in Western Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and Japan. One of his finest works graced the exterior walls of the United Nations Pavilion at the world exposition (Expo ‘86) in Vancouver.

The Art
This immense mural is based on figures from the native past and present in this area. Carved poles flank the central images of (left) Ce-who-latza, who was chief of the Lyakun Village on Shingle Point, Valdez Island, as well as a constable of the native police and a native pilot for the Royal Navy; (centre) former Chemainus Band Chief Clay-sa-luke; and (right) a Salish woman. Among the other figures who appear is Mrs. Mary Rice, top right.

A dozen bands of Cowichan people, part of the Coast Salish language group, occupied the Cowichan and Chemainus valleys for many hundreds of years before Europeans came to settle the area. Here they developed the rich heritage and superb artistic traditions which they maintain today. Many descendants of these first people continue to live in and around Chemainus.