Mamaaɫni (A Transformation Mask) Dave ParsanishiPort Alberni, BC People's Choice Award - 3rd prize Size 40" x 54" x 9" Medium Wood, Recycled Material, Archival Photographs Coming from conversations with Nuu-chah-nulth carvers, elders and language teachers, I contrast the traditional transformation mask with the Canadian attempt to transform First Nations people by “removing the Indian from the child.” This is a process of my own reconciliation to the actions of my culture. With the mirrored eyes, I invite/challenge the viewer to see themselves both as the perpetrator and in the focus of the perpetrator. People's Choice Award - 3rd prize Mamaaɫni (A Transformation Mask) Dave ParsanishiPort Alberni, BC About the artist About the artist Dave ParsanishiPort Alberni, BC About his work, he says, "I find beauty in everyday things and the patina created by age and wear. This could be in a person, a discarded chunk of metal or something washed up on the shore. Not all things are beautiful, but there is beauty in all things. I’m not sure who said that, but I try to approach my days that way and express that with my art." In the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation process, Dave became interested in all the aspects of our culture, beyond the beautiful and kind into the ugly and evil. He is interested in having us look below the surface of mundane activities and see the accreted results. Dave Parsanishi creates art in Port Alberni, B.C. He has shown in the 2015 Salt Spring National Art Prize, the Sooke and BC Festivals of the Arts, Tofino’s Carving on the Edge Festival and Port Alberni’s ArtRave. His work is currently showing at the Ahtsik Native Art Gallery and Blue Fish Gallery in Port Alberni.