Swan

Artist/Curatorial Statement

The Spirits of Snow & Ice Collection of ten limited edition serigraphs pays homage to the winter sports that take place in my hometown and all over much of British Columbia. The prints in this series bring together the four worlds present in our First Nations belief structure: the sky world represented by the dawning of a new day; the land world to which all the athletes in these images belong; the sea world evoked through the frozen waves of snow and ice; the spirit world guiding the athletes and giving them the characteristics of our sacred animals. The background image of the animals is done in respect of my Coast Salish ancestry and represents a spindle whorl design. The spindle whorl, I feel, is the perfect metaphor for weaving together our worlds.

Swan
To find love in nature, one needs look no further than the swan. Floating in pairs on lakes and sitting huddled together in fields, swans steadfastly remain with their mates for life. Their movements seem so graceful on the water that we are often mesmerized upon looking at their reflections. They force us to look inwards to our own relationships; to reflect upon how lucky we were to choose our mate and that our mate had chosen us.

To me, pairs skating also symbolizes love. While real or imagined, the skaters must portray this love to the audience. They must move together in unison and in grace. Clutching each other, they must part during the course of their routine, only to return and be embraced by one another. Like the swan, skaters force us to look upon ourselves and reflect what it is like to love and be loved.

Andy Everson

Associated Box Set: Spirits of Snow and Ice Collection Box Set - Edition of 200