Jakob de Boer | Pre-Myth

About

On view in the main gallery, Pre-Myth celebrates Jakob de Boer’s most extensive body of work to date, Where Ravens Cry; made over a two-year period on Vancouver Island and the surrounding region. The photographs are the result of a hauntingly soulful exploration of the mythology and mysticism of Canada’s Pacific Northwest. They evoke a visual anthropology that captures the spiritual significance of the region’s ancestral lands and the legends that were birthed from them.

Through his series, de Boer (b. 1974) examines a world few have seen at a poignant time when the region faces the logging of ancient forests and the invasion of pipelines. A sweeping narrative unfolds through meditative, large-format photographs revolving around themes of life, death, memory, and transformation. Desolate coastlines and massive cedar trees punctuate the work but it’s the recurring presence of this region’s myths, presented in a centerpiece, 3-meter pentaptych, “The Pre-Myth”, that sets the mystical and cinematic tone for this striking body of work.