DALESMITHGALLERY

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DALESMITHGALLERY is pleased to present The Return of the Beothuk, an exhibition of recent paintings by Nova Scotia artist Jonathan Howse. Jonathan was born in Grand Falls, NL and studied art at the San Francisco Art Institute and NSCAD University (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design - BFA, 2009). Between years of study Jonathan spent time living in and exploring the wilderness of Yukon and his native province of Newfoundland and Labrador, learning about bushcraft, homesteading, and sustainable living practices. In June 2010, as the Artist in Residence at Full Tilt Creative Centre in McIvers, NL, Jonathan painted a large-scale, site-specific project, a visual montage of stories about the local community.

In The Return of the Beothuk, Jonathan combines stories and images of the Beothuk, his own family history, and issues faced by Newfoundlanders today to explore how the lessons of the past may provide solutions for the future.

The Beothuks were the native inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries. The last known Beothuk died in 1829, and the people were officially declared extinct as a separate ethnic group - though, as Jonathan notes, current research is beginning to show that the Beothuk may not have disappeared, but instead mixed with Mi'kmaq and European settlers. Some believe that their bloodline still exists.

Jonathan Howse lives and works in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.