SHARED TERRITORIES

Leslie Wells

Carved red cedar
SRYC Building

The design of Leslie Wells’ house post honours three of the Indigenous Nations of the south Fraser River, including the Semiahmoo, q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen). Three figures’ faces—one representing each Nation—are carved from the ten-foot-high cedar plank. The carving’s oiled and unpainted surface reveals the tight rings and shimmering natural qualities of the old growth cedar log, which originated from the region around Williams Lake, BC, and is estimated to be six hundred years old. Carving traditions are an intergenerational practice, and with this commission Wells provided mentorship and cultural teachings to emerging Semiahma artist and apprentice carver Easton Arnouse, who received the gift of a carving knife from Wells as a part of his first large-scale artwork carving experience.

Leslie Wells is an artist and member of the Semiahmoo First Nation who creates artworks in various media, including wood carvings, paintings, jewellery, and prints. He apprenticed with Haida artist Robert Davidson, assisting him on a house post that now resides in White Rock. In 2008, Wells graduated from the Northwest Coast Jewellery Arts Program at the Native Education College in Vancouver led by Kwakwaka’wakw/Haida artist Dan Wallace. He completed a silk-screening course in 1981 at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre in Vancouver. He has completed public artworks for the Surrey Arts Centre and at the traffic roundabout near the South Surrey Recreation Centre with his brother, fellow artist Leonard Wells.