Woodpecker

Tim Paul is a Nuu-chah-nulth artist raised in Esperanza Inlet, on the traditional territory of Hesquiaht First Nation.

 His works are inspired by his family’s cultural teachings and history, as well as the four elements – the sky, mountains, land and the ocean.

Growing up, Paul was surrounded by artists, including his father, who was a painter, his grandmother, who was a basket weaver and his grandfathers, Joe and Moses Smith, who were eighth generation canoe carvers.

He began carving at the age of 11 as a means to “make people feel good” and share the teachings of his aunts and grandparents.

This was disrupted when he was forced to attend Christie Residential School on Meares Island, where he endured years of abuse.

Developing self-independence and “guts” as a means of survival, Paul carries these attributes into his work.

The Hesquiaht man carved his first two model poles with elder Percy Jones in Nanaimo, before moving to Victoria and working under the tutelage of Ben Andrews in 1972.

Between 1974 and 1976, Paul carved at the Arts of the Raven Gallery in Victoria, learning from Tony Hunt and John Livingston.

Two years later, he began assisting renowned master carver Richard Hunt at Thunderbird Park at the Royal British Columbia Museum. In 1985, Paul took on Hunt’s role as chief carver at Thunderbird Park.

While working at Thunderbird Park, Paul took on a number of high-profile commissions for totem poles that now stand in places such as, Stanley Park in Vancouver, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Quebec and Yorkshire Sculpture Park in England, as well as Sweden, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and New Zealand.

 Paul left his role at Thunderbird Park in 1990 to oversee an Indigenous education program for the Port Alberni School Board. In this position, he developed student workbooks and teacher guides as a way to pass down and preserve his cultural teachings.

Using an 800-year-old wind fallen cedar log, Paul began working on a language revitalization pole in 2019 that was commissioned by the First Nation Education Foundation to commemorate the United Nations International year of Indigenous Language.

He is a recipient of the BC Achievement First Nations Art Award.

The Hesquiaht artist now lives and works on Tseshaht traditional territory, in Port Alberni.