Pitt Street’s Cailuan Art Gallery buzzed with excitement on Saturday evening, during the Power Shine Body Art exhibition — the gallery’s first exhibition of 2021.
The event was also a first in that it featured the work of a married couple —Yaffa Goawily did the painting whereas her husband Kaiser Moussa, a professional photographer, took the photos.
The two are new to Cornwall, having established themselves in the city last year just prior to the pandemic tightening its grip on the area. Despite having been here for a short time, the two are already quite involved in the local arts community.
Saturday’s exhibition featured much more than photographs however — starting at 5 p.m., Goawily also proceeded to undertake a live body painting of local model Cailan Davies.
“We have two live performances — tonight for the opening, we have Cailan who will model and be painted and then mid-month, we will have Jason Sauve be painted. It will give us both the perspective of male and female,” said Cailuan Gallery owner Tracy Lynn Davies. “It’s going to be really neat.”
The exhibition also happened to be a first for Goawily.
“It’s my first show in Cornwall,” she said. “I believe that art is a very powerful healing process. I’ve been doing art since I was a child — art isn’t fancy, but it’s important for everyone to do something artistic, whether it’s listening to music, watching a movie or even read a book.”
In all, Goawily worked with four different models in order to create the pieces for the exhibition. These were actually friends from Montreal.
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Cornwall artist Yaffa Goawily performed a live painting of local model Cailan Davies during the Power Shine Body Art exhibition’s launch on Saturday March 6, 2021 in Cornwall, Ont. Francis Racine/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia NetworkPhoto by Francis Racine /Francis Racine/Standard-Freeholder
The Power Shrine Body Art exhibition is currently being showcased at Pitt Street’s Cailuan Gallery. Photo taken on Saturday March 6, 2021 in Cornwall, Ont. Francis Racine/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia NetworkPhoto by Francis Racine /Francis Racine/Standard-Freeholder
The exhibit, which features 20 or so pieces, were created in a partnership between married couple Yaffa Goawily, which did the painting and her husband Kaiser Moussa, a professional photographer. Photo taken on Saturday March 6, 2021 in Cornwall, Ont. Francis Racine/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia NetworkPhoto by Francis Racine /Francis Racine/Standard-Freeholder
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network Kaiser Moussa provided this photo of opening day for the Power Shine exhibition held at the Cailuan Gallery in Cornwall on Saturday, March 6, 2021. Handout Not For ResaleSupplied
All 23 Photos for Gallery
“When they were ready, we did the body painting session for them,” she said. “My intention, basically, was to work with people that aren’t models — they are normal women discovering their own happiness by adding colours to their bodies and sharing that happiness. There is no shame or judgment in how our body looks like.”
Painting a whole body usually takes Goawily about one and a half hours and it’s something that she’s been doing for quite some time — 15 years to be exact. Her interest in it began when she was attending college.
“They put us in the gallery and I kept painting for seven hours a banana and other natural things,” she said. “I liked doing it, but I started getting a little bit bored — that’s when I started painting myself. From there the idea grew.”
Every piece in the exhibit is for sale and anyone wanting to view it can do so between Thursdays and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to Davies however, local residents can request a private showing with their social bubble. All they have to do is contact the gallery.
So, how have things been at the gallery during the pandemic? Well, apparently a little slow. But that hasn’t stopped Davies from thinking outside of the box.
“We applied for the Digital Main Street grant, which helped us get online — we now have a beautiful website,” she said. “We’ve been able to do some business through there, selling art online and having a way for artists to make some money and to have something to, have a goal to work towards.”
Despite lower sales during the last year, Davies did say requests from residents wanting to get into art have for their part significantly increased. So much so, she ended up hosting private, online one-on-one classes.
“We’ve had a lot more request for classes and I think that people are finally starting to realize that they need to try new things and branch out,” she said. “I guess that the pandemic has given them time to think about what they want to do.”
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
