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JAJ: A Haida Manga
With gorgeous imagery, visual artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas brings to life the tumultuous history of first contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples and the early colonization by the Europeans of the northern West Coast. Yahgulanaas uses a blend of traditional and modern art, eschewing the traditional boxes of comic books for the flowing shapes of North Pacific iconography. The panels are filled with colourful and expressive watercolour paintings. The panels of each page, if removed and assembled into one whole image, form a large image reminiscent of a woven robe. The story follows several historical figures, including Johan Adrian Jacobsen (JAJ), who comes to the Haida village of Masset to collect specimens for a German museum, through a time span that includes first contact, the devastation of the smallpox epidemic, and the mass resettlement of disenfranchised peoples, both Indigenous and European.
132 pages, Hardcover
First published May 27, 2023
59 people want to read
About the author
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
16Ìýbooks31ÌýfollowersMichael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is an award-winning visual contemporary artist, author and professional speaker. His work has been seen in public spaces, museums, galleries and private collections across the globe. Institutional collections include the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum and Vancouver Art Gallery. His large sculptural works are part of the public art collection of the Vancouver International Airport, City of Vancouver, City of Kamloops and University of British Columbia. Yahgulanaas's publications include national bestsellers Flight of the Hummingbird and RED, a Haida Manga. When not writing or producing art, Yahgulanaas pulls from his 20 years of political experience in the Council of the Haida Nation and travels the world speaking to businesses, institutions and communities about social justice, community building, communication and change management. His most recent talks include the American Museum of Natural History and TEDxVancouver 2015.
Yahgulanaas became a full-time artist after many decades working in the Haida Nation's successful campaign to protect its biocultural diversity; however, he began to play as an artist much earlier. As the descendant of iconic artists Isabella Edenshaw, Charles Edenshaw and Delores Churchill, his early training was under exceptional creators and master carvers of talented lineage. It wasn't until the late 1990s after an exposure to Chinese brush techniques, under the tutelage of Cantonese master Cai Ben Kwon, that he consciously began to merge Haida and Asian artistic influences into his self-taught practice, and innovated the art form called "Haida Manga."
Haida Manga blends North Pacific Indigenous iconographies and framelines with the graphic dynamism of Asian manga. It is committed to hybridity as a positive force that opens a third space for critical engagement and is weaved through his art, books and speeches. Haida Manga offers an empowering and playful way of viewing and engaging with social issues as it seeks participation, dialogue, reflection and action.
Yahgulanaas's visual practice encompasses a variety of different art forms including large-scale public art projects, mixed media sculptures and canvases, re-purposed automobile parts, acrylics, watercolours, ink drawings, ceramics and illustrated publications. Exploring themes of identity, environmentalism and the human condition he uses art and speaking opportunities to communicate a world view that while particular to Haida Gwaii - his ancestral North Pacific archipelago - is also relevant to a contemporary and internationally-engaged audience.
Influenced by both the tradition of Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, Yahgulanaas has created a practice that is celebrated for its vitality, relevancy and originality.
(from: )
Yahgulanaas became a full-time artist after many decades working in the Haida Nation's successful campaign to protect its biocultural diversity; however, he began to play as an artist much earlier. As the descendant of iconic artists Isabella Edenshaw, Charles Edenshaw and Delores Churchill, his early training was under exceptional creators and master carvers of talented lineage. It wasn't until the late 1990s after an exposure to Chinese brush techniques, under the tutelage of Cantonese master Cai Ben Kwon, that he consciously began to merge Haida and Asian artistic influences into his self-taught practice, and innovated the art form called "Haida Manga."
Haida Manga blends North Pacific Indigenous iconographies and framelines with the graphic dynamism of Asian manga. It is committed to hybridity as a positive force that opens a third space for critical engagement and is weaved through his art, books and speeches. Haida Manga offers an empowering and playful way of viewing and engaging with social issues as it seeks participation, dialogue, reflection and action.
Yahgulanaas's visual practice encompasses a variety of different art forms including large-scale public art projects, mixed media sculptures and canvases, re-purposed automobile parts, acrylics, watercolours, ink drawings, ceramics and illustrated publications. Exploring themes of identity, environmentalism and the human condition he uses art and speaking opportunities to communicate a world view that while particular to Haida Gwaii - his ancestral North Pacific archipelago - is also relevant to a contemporary and internationally-engaged audience.
Influenced by both the tradition of Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, Yahgulanaas has created a practice that is celebrated for its vitality, relevancy and originality.
(from: )
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 14, 2023
I have conflicted feelings about my reading experience with Jaj. The art is unbelievably, incredibly amazing. It’s exuberant, vibrant with colour, the art spilling out of the frame into the margins. Hands down the most creative work I’ve had the pleasure to experience blending the iconic art of the Pacific Northwest with modern art in manga form. It’s extraordinary. Not enough stars for how fabulous it is. The conflict comes with the chaotic nature of the narrative which was choppy and confusing, trying to perhaps include so many details that I was sometimes lost as to what was going on, and the art which was stunning, did not always tell the story of what was happening narratively. Also, while the narrative was telling the story of the Maida indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, and the story of Johan Adrian Jacobsen, an historical figure I confess I know nothing about, it was not clear to me how all those things tied together. So I finished perplexed and not entirely confident I had a credible viewpoint offered on the topics. I don’t like having that sense of ambiguity when reading historical accounts. So for me, the art would have a 10 star rating if I could give it. It was such a pleasure to immerse myself in the work, but the narrative text, would be sitting at a 3. Perhaps on a reread, or a delve into the history that was covered would improve that aspect, but given how much I loved the art and the creativity behind it, I cannot give it anything less than 5 stars.
December 5, 2023
The graphic design & art was totally amazing! I loved the blend of traditional & modern art combined, the panels, the use of watercolours, the simplistic yet detailed images, & the way he filled the pages so your eyes were constantly searching for more.
However, I found the written account a bit difficult & choppy to follow. While I'm not acquainted with the explorers mentioned, this book tells the story of the first explorers to come to the Northern Pacific West Coast & their interactions with the Indigenous peoples. I found that there was just too many individuals with too much information introduced & nothing really flowed...it was just too choppy.
A beautiful piece of work, though!
However, I found the written account a bit difficult & choppy to follow. While I'm not acquainted with the explorers mentioned, this book tells the story of the first explorers to come to the Northern Pacific West Coast & their interactions with the Indigenous peoples. I found that there was just too many individuals with too much information introduced & nothing really flowed...it was just too choppy.
A beautiful piece of work, though!
September 8, 2023
The art was really good. I think it was meant to be read in different format because it didn't seem to flow in any order which made the story a bit choppy and confusing. Definitely worth a read though. What our ancestors did was all kinds of wrong. White people colonizers are the worst. I say that as a white people.
January 20, 2024
This was an interesting work, both for its visual style-- combining cartooning with the traditional artwork of the Pacific Northwest-- and for the story it tells. But I am giving it only a moderate rating because I just don't think it works very well. The book reveals that the original work was commissioned for a German museum and is a large panel; this book takes snapshots of that panel and adds captions to transform the panel into something like a comic or graphic novel. I don't think it works particularly well since the art is obviously shoehorned into a book format and doesn't flow very well as a result. Though conversely, it is hard to imagine the original artwork working much better (the book provides pictures of how it looks as a whole) unless viewing was accompanied by someone explaining the story; lacking narration it seems hard to make sense of the work unless one is already familiar with the story. That said, I am intrigued by this artist's work and will be checking out some of his other books.
December 29, 2024
A "Haida Manga" based on a mural commissioned by Berlin's Humboldt Forum. It deals with some history of the Haida and the European explorers and colonizers in the Pacific NW. The art is quite nice to look at, and the idea is interesting: each page is a section of the mural with text added. The story is a bit hard to follow at times. Maybe intentionally.
The artist says of the mural: “You look at it, and there’s so much going on. You know there’s a story there. But it’s difficult to read. And that’s intentional.�
You can see the mural itself here, along with the source of that quote:
BTW: JAJ = Johan Adrian Jacobsen
The artist says of the mural: “You look at it, and there’s so much going on. You know there’s a story there. But it’s difficult to read. And that’s intentional.�
You can see the mural itself here, along with the source of that quote:
BTW: JAJ = Johan Adrian Jacobsen
October 2, 2024
It's October 1st, and for me that means a new monthly theme for reading. It's now Indigenous October, and I have been wanting to read this book ever since I came across it earlier this year at Powell's (AKA the greatest bookstore ever, which I will coincidentally be back at this weekend). Yes, I've been waiting six months to read it (ya girl loves to stick to her themes), but unfortunately I had a very hard time following what was happening here. The art is FANTASTIC, but I was nonetheless left utterly perplexed by this book. I'm so bummed to feel this way, but according to other reviews, it appears I'm not the only one who found the story confusing and hard to follow...
July 2, 2024
The art for this book is spectacular, but I found the way the text was set made it incredibly difficult for me to follow, which made reading it feel a bit like a chore to me. I usually have a high tolerance(even preference) for comics that lean heavily on the artistic side rather than commercial, but for this one, unfortunately, I thought it needed to pull back a little for legibility.
THAT said, I don't expect everyone to agree with me, and my difficulty following the text could be a me thing.
THAT said, I don't expect everyone to agree with me, and my difficulty following the text could be a me thing.
November 16, 2024
Fantastic art and a complex story of how empire building divides people. I had never heard of the plague boats. Horrifying yet from the same playbook as so many other first contact stories. I particularly liked the afterword about how the two communities, one Haida and one German have been working together to heal. Very inspiring.
February 28, 2024
I SO BADLY want to go see the mural in person. Absolutely stunning art. Really interesting to learn a bit of Jewish history in this region! The stories I have of my people have always been separate from the land that raised me.
September 16, 2023
Loved the artwork-captivating and totally creative. Could wish the narrative was more linear though; found it a bit hard to keep track. Overall though, a beautiful book.
February 7, 2024
Stunning illustrations
October 22, 2024
Art is obviously fantastic, but the story was not clear and cohesive enough.
October 24, 2024
reading and discussing this might be the coolest thing i have ever been apart of
October 30, 2024
Amazing art work
Love the "totem pole design" of the story being told.
Love the "totem pole design" of the story being told.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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