In the two decades since its initial publication, The Transforming Image has become a must-have book for scholars and appreciators of Northwest Coast art, and, importantly, for First Nations artists, who have come to rely on its wealth of images and ideas. A new edition of this groundbreaking volume makes its invaluable findings accessible once again.

Its hundreds of photos of historical Indigenous artworks—objects and belongings now widely dispersed in collections around the world—are the extraordinary result of Bill McLennan’s Image Recovery Project, in which he used infrared photography to reveal images on historical Northwest Coast objects whose painted surfaces were obscured by the patina of age. The project photographed nearly a thousand objects over its two-decade run, and worked with contemporary First Nations artists to reconstruct the compositions and understand their original context and significance, which the authors discuss in their insightful and engaging commentary. These rediscovered artworks radically deepened the understanding of Northwest Coast First Nations painting, including techniques, materials, imagery, and the creativity of generations of ancestor artists.

A new preface by Karen Duffek speaks to what the book has helped set in motion, and how First Nations artists and scholars today are taking this art forward in new and compelling directions.

Available October 2022.

May 24, 2022

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