It has been 4 months since my last post. A time in which I have been busy preparing for my participation in the Singapore Biennale 2016. While I have been preoccupied with the production and presentation of my work at this major art event, the Lax Kw’alaams/Petronas conflagration has been on a slow boil … simmering as we awaited a federal government decision on the mega-project. On Tuesday the 4th of October Justin Trudeau’s government gave its approval. This YES! has not come as surprise to those who understand the power of the LNG lobby, especially no surprise to those who acknowledge the Canadian economy’s dependence on resource extraction. This hard-nosed economic turn by Trudeau underscores the end of the young premier’s romance of ‘sunny ways’… particularly with regard to native imperatives. With his Haida tattoo presumably still on his youthful arm, our premier has waved ahoy to the Petronas Corpration and its controversial LNG investment in the face of significant, if patchy, native opposition. While we wait to see if the economics of this project warrants speedy implementation, Petronas has swiftly thwarted speculation in the news that they might sell their share in the venture. In this realm of the media however, the BC natives have seized their moment… their crowning image so to speak. Taking the opportunity of the spotlight brought by the visit of their Royal Highnesses the princess and princess of Wales, members the Haida Nation wore bright blue t-shirts during an official ceremonial event; t-shirts that sent a clear message to the Feds, to BC, to Petronas and to the world – NO LNG!
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The Koboi Project 
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