Image: L. Gomes / PML / Travis Herbert of Raven-Tacuara painting the mural in preparation for the Chilliwack Mural Festival.

By Laurice Gomes

Chilliwack Mural Festival

Artist collective Raven-Tacuara shares “light and darkness of life” in mural for Chilliwack Mural Fesitval

Aug 7, 2022 | 1:51 PM

CHILLIWACK — The Chilliwack Mural Festival is no stranger to bringing in local, national, and international talent to showcase their work—so it’s no surprise that collective group, Raven-Tacuara, is in town bringing life to the walls of downtown Chilliwack.

The group is made up of Travis Hebert, Amanda Hugon, Stephanie Anderson, and Facundo Gastiazoro.

“This design is primarily designed by Amanda, who is originally from Chilliwack and has a background from here,” said artist Travis Herbert. “And the fact that we are here painting the mural—I know from being a friend and a fellow artist who paints with Amanda that this is a big emotional thing for her, because it’s about coming back to the home and being able to represent herself as an artist but also as an Indigenous person that has roots here.”

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Amanda Hugon, who was born in Chilliwack, said part of the inspiration behind the mural was her late father.

Hugon said that the group had interviewed people from Chilliwack to get their stories about how they felt in the community. Those stories are being represented in the mural, along with Hugon’s own personal one.

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“When I helped write the grant application for the mural, I also wrote about my father, who actually died in the streets of Chilliwack,” Hugon said. “Systematic racism, homelessness, mental health issues—this piece is sharing the light and darkness of life; it’s bringing together the voices of everybody.”

Hugon explained the thought process behind the inspiration for the mural—a lot of it stemming from her heritage, but also a symbolic representation of the skull.

“Everyone has a skull—every gender, every race, it’s very neutral to human beings,” Hugon said matter-of-factly. “And the style behind that is Coast Salish, and that’s where I’m from—I’m of Stó:lō Nation, my family is from Cheam, and I was born here in Chilliwack.”

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Artist Facundo Gastiazoro of Raven-Tacuara.

Another aspect of the mural is a spindle whorl.

“The spindle whorl is used to create a blanket, and when it’s spinning it’s giving the weaver the vision and putting them in a trance to create that blanket,” Hugon explained. “And that’s what this is kind of doing—is sharing those thoughts, those ideas, those people, and putting in that inclusivity.”

The Chilliwack Mural Festival takes place on August 20, and Raven-Tacuara is at the corner of Yale and Nowell painting their masterpiece. The group hopes to have their piece completed by August 16 and welcomed the idea of the community stopping by to say hello.

“Everyone in this community has been so supportive, even if they don’t know who we are, and that has been lovely,” Hugon said.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / The Chilliwack Mural Festival will take place on August 20.