Darlene Gait, an artist from the Esquimalt First Nation, was aboard a B.C. Ferries vessel in December when the ship was suddenly surrounded by orcas.
“It was a really significant thing to see,” Gait said Tuesday in an interview. “I’ve never seen such a huge pod before and never that close.”
It was Dec. 23 and she was en route to Swartz Bay.
Gait was awaiting word on whether she had been awarded a commission for artwork on the exterior and interior of B.C. Ferries’ new vessel, Salish Orca.
Later that day, Gait received a telephone call to let her know her designs had been selected, out of 37 entrants, and the commission was hers.
Salish Orca is under construction in Gdansk, Poland. Delivery is expected this year and the vessel will run between Comox and Powell River.
Gait was part of a Tuesday ceremony at One Moon Art Gallery, on the Esquimalt First Nation, in which her motif was unveiled.
Salish Orca is one of three intermediate-class vessels being built for about $200 million. The other two vessels are Salish Eagle and Salish Raven, which will serve the Southern Gulf Islands.
Mike Corrigan, B.C. Ferries president, said the vessel names and their designs are meant to pay homage to B.C.’s ocean geography and its original peoples.
“The names were selected to honour the Coast Salish people, truly the first mariners of the Salish sea,” Corrigan said.
“We also wanted to honour the Salish Sea, where the vessels will operate.”
Gait said her design for Salish Orca pays homage to a kind of union between land, sea and all peoples.
Look closely at the traditional Salish swirls and panels of colour on Gait’s orcas, and you can spot elements of the wolf — claws, eyes and a tail.
It’s an image based on Coast Salish legends, which tell of a wolf transforming into an orca and back again.
It’s also based on Gait’s dreams and intuitions. She said she, personally, sometimes feels like a wolf among orcas.
“So in my creation, we have two very different creatures, one from the land and one from the sea, becoming one,” she said.
“It opens us up to understand many possibilities.
“It reminds us that we are all connected to the land, to the sea, to the mountains and to each other.”
