Fish scales, carvings, and paintings added to Yukon's art collection

A painted gold pan, fish scale art, and works by legendary painters A.Y. Jackson and Ted Harrison are among the works added to Yukon's permanent art collection this year.

The 17 newly-acquired works — most of them by local artists — were presented on display at the Yukon legislature on Thursday. The territorial government purchases new pieces of work for its collection, annually.

This year's crop includes Jackson's Ogilvie Mountains, and an early work by Yukon's Ted Harrison, called Snaring Rabbits (1976).

The rest is an eclectic mix of works in a variety of media, including a silver bracelet, a cedar carving, a painted gold pan, metalwork and and even a montage made with old law books and fabric. 

Florence Moses made a babiche bag called Night Fishing at Ta Kwan Te Mun (the Northern Tutchone name for Ethel Lake). The piece is inspired by the colours of the northern lights and the mountains.

"It's a woven bag to allow airflow, so your game stays nice and fresh and doesn't spoil before you get it home," she explained, at the Thursday event.  

Another local artist, Josée Carbonneau — whose piece is a detailed work made with fish scales — said she's delighted to see her work accepted into the territory's permanent collection.

"It feels good," she said, with a laugh. "It feels that my art is recognized, moving forward to a higher level, maybe."

Other work includes a beaded wedding jacket by Sho Sho Esquiro, a Kaska and Tlingit artist whose work has been shown on Paris runways. 

Pieces in the territory's permanent collection are displayed across Yukon in government buildings and loaned to art galleries and museums.

Work are selected for the collection every year through an open call for submission. The deadline for the latest call for submissions is Feb. 10, 2017.