Article 4 – Feature Artist: Jasyn Lucas

Jasyn Lucas: A Proud Member of the UCN Communities in Thompson

As a member of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, Jasyn Lucas has chosen to spend most of his time in Thompson, where he finds himself most at home with his art, his social life and his education. Born in 1979 in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Jasyn was adopted into the Lucas family in Thompson before his first birthday. He was raised by his European family, but he has never been cut off from his original Native Bloodline and History. Thompson is a perfect place for Jasyn to link with his ancestor and traditions, and practice his art throughout his daily life. He went to high school at R.D Parker Collegiate but moved to North Vancouver to study Art History, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing and Printmaking at Capilano College for two years. He even lived in East Vancouver for a year to seek his settlement in art and life. While living in East Vancouver, he would take his bicycle for a round trip of 24 km daily, but he was always hungry due to the lack of financial support to help continue to follow his dreams. Hence, he had to return to his hometown of Thompson where he was sure that he would get all the support that he needed.

Jasyn is proud to claim, “I am a Thompsonite.” In the project of “I AM Thompsonite” (see https://thompson.ca/m/i-am-thompsonite/about), Jasyn tells the public; “The thing that makes me proud to be a Thompsonite are the people. The people here are great and tough. We have a diverse community with different beliefs and cultures, but we all know how great Thompson is and how precious the land here is.”

Jasyn loves the land and wilderness around Thompson. He mainly paints animals and landscapes. Some of his paintings are exhibited in DaVic Gallery of Native Canadian Arts (see https://nativecanadianarts.com/). As Jasyn points out, “I want my paintings to be therapeutic, a breath of fresh air and stress free, so I paint interpretations of what I see around me that bring me peace.”

The series of “Animal and Landscapes” are a mixture of surreal visions and contemporary ideas and concepts. Jasyn calls his surreal visions “dreamy” visions. As an urban Indian, he tries to find his identity by exploring the relationship between animals and land. In the last ten years, he uses general symbols and traditional teachings in his works but Jasyn always hesitates to call himself an Aboriginal artist.