MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Fall / Winter 2017

76 MLCM FALL/WINTER 2017 “Formline is the primary design element on which Northwest Coast art depends.” In 1994, at age 19, Hunt began carving and started to apprentice with his father, Heiltsuk artist Bradley Hunt. The next four years were spent getting to know his tools and his hands, and sculpting hundreds of pieces of art; masks, totem poles and jewellery. To further his passion, Hunt turned to higher education and earned a diploma in Studio Art from Capilano College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from University of British Columbia, where he majored in sculpture and drawing. For much of the past decade, Hunt has spent less time carving and now specializes in what’s known as formline art, a feature in the indigenous artworks of the Northwest Coast of North America. Formline is distinguished by the use of characteristic shapes referred to as ovoids , U forms and S forms. The term was first coined by Bill Holm in his 1965 book Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form . “Formline,” Holm writes, “is the primary design element on which Northwest Coast art depends. Formlines are continuous, flowing, curvilinear lines that turn, swell and diminish in a prescribed manner.” Hunt’s career has turned and swelled as well. “I feel as if I am constantly changing and evolving as an artist and as a person,” he says. “I’m always trying to better myself and my work never stays static. It feels more like an evolution. I often play off of the idea of shape shifting, because that is quite literally what I do—I move shapes around. Whether it’s formline design or non-formline assemblages in sculpture or paint; I move around the traditional shapes, shifting them both in their placement as well as pushing the perceived limits of their form.” Hunt’s work stands out for the integration of this traditional First Nations style into modern pop culture references. This adds reliability to his unique style and makes the viewer look, and think, more deeply.