Eye of the Ancestor invites people to consider their relationship to land, history, and continuity

MARCH 10, 2026 (VANCOUVER, CANADA) — The Polygon Gallery will unveil a major new sculpture by contemporary Coast Salish artist James Nexw’Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry on April 10, marking the gallery’s seventh collaboration and co-commission with Burrard Arts Foundation. Located in the ground floor lobby and visible through the windows around the clock, Eye of the Ancestor will be the first artwork visitors engage with as they enter into the space, providing an opportunity to reflect on the land and territory they are in as they consider the work. The sculpture will be on view through Oct. 18, 2026.

“Being our seventh co-commission with the Burrard Arts Foundation and given the location of The Polygon Gallery in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh territory, it was written in the stars that we would be working on this project with James Harry — the first Squamish artist to be brought onto this series of commissions,” says Joelle Johnston, The Polygon’s Indigenous Liaison and the commission’s co-curator. “Seven is an important number within Indigenous communities. It is a reminder to think not only for yourself but how your actions can impact seven generations into the future. Harry’s consideration for incorporating intergenerational dialogue within his work further highlights the serendipitous nature of this commission.”

Eye of the Ancestor is a striking yellow cedar wooden sphere, carved with Coast Salish designs on the surface and holding a mirror-polished steel sphere inside. The composition creates layered reflections and viewpoints that shift with the viewer’s movements around the sculpture. The title is rooted in Coast Salish visual language, where the eye signifies awareness, presence, and continuity beyond the individual. The sculpture constructs this form as an immersive spatial system, transforming the eye into structure, threshold, and interior. Through calibrated light, reflection, and movement, the work enacts Indigenous pedagogies in material form, situating knowledge as relational, layered, and revealed over time.

“The Audain Foundation is honoured to support this powerful new artwork by contemporary Coast Salish artist James Harry, whose work is deeply anchored in his Squamish heritage,” says Manon Gauthier, Executive Director of the Audain Foundation. “Harry’s forward-thinking practice is a shining example of redefining the role of Indigenous art in the public space. Eye of the Ancestor is an invitation to pause, observe, and reflect — and even challenges our own worldview.”

The piece’s suspension from the ceiling creates a sense of weightlessness while extending the architectural structure of the space. Harry enacts Coast Salish principles in which art and architecture are inseparable and every built form carries responsibility. The sculpture attaches itself to the building’s framework, aligning with the structural systems that shape the gallery. In doing so, it situates itself in an active relationship with the architecture built upon the land, the institution it houses, and the viewers moving through the room.

“Eye of the Ancestor is deeply personal for me,” says Harry. “Becoming a parent fundamentally shifted my sense of responsibility, away from individual authorship and toward continuity. I am a Coast Salish artist contributing to a broader cultural resurgence. My father played a critical role in revitalizing Coast Salish culture at a time when it had been pushed toward near erasure, and I now carry that work forward, advancing it for the generations still to come. My daughter represents the seventh generation since European contact in my family. That isn’t an abstract idea. It shapes how I think about time, inheritance, and obligation. Eye of the Ancestor is, in part, about creating a space where that intergenerational relationship is not explained, but physically felt.”

James Nexw’Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry is a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh artist living and working in shíshálh Nation territory. Raised in a family of artists, he learned Salish design and carving from his father Xwalacktun and later completed his BFA at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. His practice draws deeply on ancestral knowledge while challenging the systemic structures that have long marginalized Indigenous voices. Through collaborations with cities, developers, architects, and
institutions, Harry embeds Indigenous leadership and worldview into contemporary environments by envisioning a bold, immersive, land-based future for Coast Salish art where culture is not simply represented, but actively shapes the world being built.

Find out more: thepolygon.ca/exhibition/james-harry-eye-of-the-ancestor

Curated by Joelle Johnston and Elliott Ramsey

About The Polygon Gallery
Grounded in photography, The Polygon Gallery creates space to challenge how we see the world. The Gallery moved into its Governor General’s Medal-winning building in 2017 after operating as Presentation House Gallery for 40 years. The organization has presented more than 300 exhibitions and earned a reputation as one of the country’s most adventurous public art institutions. Admission is by donation, courtesy of BMO Financial Group.

Gallery hours
Wednesday, 10am–5pm; Thursday, 10am–9pm; Friday–Sunday, 10am–5pm

Address
101 Carrie Cates Court, North Vancouver | Unceded territories of the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Band.

Press kit and photos
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Press contact
Ines Min
604 440 0791
ines@inesmin.com

Banner Image: James Harry, in-progress view of Eye of the Ancestor, 2026. Co-commissioned by The Polygon Gallery and Burrard Arts Foundation. Photo courtesy of the artist.