Ticc-yupii

Raven stands at the centre of Ticc‑Yupii. He is one of the most important figures in Northwest Coast stories and art. Across many communities, Raven acts as a cultural guide—cunning, curious, mischievous, and wise. He is also a creator. In many teachings, Raven steals the sun, moon, and stars and then places them in the sky so all beings can live in the light.

Tim Paul, a member of the Hesquiaht tribe from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nation, is a master carver from Esperanza Inlet in British Columbia, Canada. He served as the senior carver at the Royal British Columbia Museum until 1992, when he left to lead an Indigenous education program for the Port Alberni school board on Vancouver Island.

 Paul created this design to show Raven’s transformation from dark to light. He stresses that life depends on balance. We need both darkness and light, just as night leads naturally into day. Tim explains that “there have been times when we have been in the dark” because of the harm we cause when we forget our place in the world. Although we are small in the universe, we often act without respect for nature. Tim reminds us that we are all connected—to each other and to the land. “We come from nature, we grow from nature,” he says. “Our ancestors were tied to the sun, the moon, the stars, the wind, the oceans, the waves, the tides.” He urges us to pause, reconsider our place, and restore balance.

The serigraph’s central theme is the movement from darkness back into light. Light represents goodness, clarity, and life. As Tim says, “Light breathes life. It creates life. Where would the universe be without light? Without it, we’d be nothing.”

At the centre of the design, two faces appear—one dark in profile and one light in frontal view. This shift shows the moment of transformation. We emerge from the dark inside the circle and step into the light with a foot reaching outward. Tim explains, “This is good coming out.” It represents taking responsibility and choosing our path.

This limited-edition silk screen print titled “Ticc-Yupii” by Tim Paul was hand produced by the screen-printing process. It is the only limited-edition printing of this design. The artist has inspected and signed each copy in the edition. The printer has destroyed all trial copies and obliterated the printing stencils.