In photos: Haida master carver at work on totem pole
Jim Hart is completing his largest carving on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s fourth floor
Haida master carver and chief James (Jim) Hart has been working on this totem pole since 2010, and took up residence on the fourth floor of the Vancouver Art Gallery this month to complete the massive work.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
The largest carving of Mr. Hart’s storied career, The Dance Screen (The Scream Too) – its working title – is more than three metres tall and about 4.9 metres wide, made from the wood of seven red cedars salvaged from the Tlell watershed on Haida Gwaii, and weighs some 1.3 metric tonnes (so heavy the VAG had to bring in an engineer to ensure the floor could withstand the weight).John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
A private commission, the pole celebrates the centrality and importance of the salmon in both the Haida culture and the ecosystem of Haida Gwaii. The opening near the bottom is a dance screen, through which dancers in future may pass. Visitors to the VAG can watch Mr. Hart and his team work on the pole through early 2013.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail