Wood slat and rod body armour, 2012
Tommy Joseph, Wood slat and rod body armour, 2012, alder wood, hemp cordage, paint, collection of the artist. Photo credit: Campbell River Art Gallery.
This armour by Tommy Joseph—a Sitka-based Tlingit woodcarver of the Eagle Moiety, Kaagwaantaan—references pre-contact, Tlingit armour which was made from locally sourced and available materials, unlike post-contact armour, which took up new elements, such as Chinese coins. In this recent work by Joseph, alder slats and rods are woven together with hemp cordage, wooden panels are stitched together with leather lacing, and moosehide straps and alder toggles fasten the armour around the body. Warriors did not go into battle in complete suits, but rather specific warriors selected pieces for certain occasions. Joseph’s contemporary armour pays tribute to environmental advocacy, while also looking back to the long history of armour in the community.
Gallery
Refuse to eat our bitterness, 2021
金山夢 Gold Mountain Dreams (Flag), 2021
Marquis of Lorne Arch, 1882
A good reputation endures forever 流芳百世, 2021
C.S. Wing Studio, 2020
Unidentified Chinese Man Lighting a Cigarette, pre-1929
the chrysanthemum has opened twelve times (Banner), 2020
Le Parc de la Pagode (Montréal), 1978, 2020
the chrysanthemum has opened twelve times (Audio), 2020
Coin-Suit, 2021
Armour Vest for female warrior, 2012
Wood slat and rod body armour, 2012
Ruinscape (Wallpaper), 2020
After the 1907 Chinatown Riots in Vancouver, 2020
Chinese Arch on Pender St. (Vancouver), 1912, 2020
Victoria Chinese Public School, June 5, 2020, 2020
56-58 Elizabeth St., Toronto, 1937, 2020
March 30, 2020 Attack, 2020
Longevity to Our Elders, 2020
Celebration in Nanaimo Chinatown, n.d.
Success to the Revolution, 2021
From Yiwu to you, 2015–present
From Yiwu to you (detail), 2015–present