Kwaht-Yaht is Born by Art Thompson

Silkscreen Print

1989

22" x 23"

Edition Size - 150

“Kwaht-Yaht was one of the legendary heroes of the Nuu-chah-nulth people. This serigraph depicts the birth of this legendary being. In times gone by the world did not have human beings. There were only animals. The Raven was one of these animals that occupied the world before the humans arrived. He (the Raven) grew tired of his playmates and desired someone of a more superior intelligence. In his loneliness, Raven wandered onto the beach, then onto the rocks for a meal of mussels. Feeling more lonely as he ate by himself he started crying. He cried for a long time, until the mucous started running from his nose, then dripping into the mussel shells. One day at low-tide the mussel opened up and there was Kwaht-Yaht stretching and glad to be out of such a cramped situation. He is believed to be the start of the Nuu-chah-nulth people.”

– Art Thompson