Cody Lecoy is a Syilx and Lekwungen artist from British Columbia. For his Mid-Career Artist Scholarship, Cody worked with master artist Tom LaFortune to study and advance his carving practice and created the carved panel The Engineer.
The Engineer, 2021
Cedar, acrylic paint 30"
The Engineer (detail), 2021
Cedar, acrylic paint 30"
“This artwork stems from my interest in the field of epigenetics. What inspired me to create this artwork was the understanding from epigenetics that the environment greatly influences the genes we carry and which ones are expressed. I chose to reference the environment within the animal I chose to represent which is the beaver. The beaver greatly influences the environment and creates ecosystems with their engineering skills. As a symbol of environmental interaction, the beaver represents how we are affected by the environment and how we can affect change upon the environment. This artwork is about conscious creation both within our internal environment and the external environment. This requires responsibility and accountability for the impact we extend into the world. It is my view that this starts from the inside out. To create from a place of awareness requires an understanding of how our thoughts influence our beliefs and behaviours. I have also chosen to represent technological imagery within the artwork as a factor that greatly influences the internal and external environment. The ability to respond to the technological, biological, and social pressures of the day is the responsibility for conscious co-creation with the environment and is when we can become the engineers of our realities”
– Cody Lecoy
