David Neel

David Anthony Neel (born April 7, 1960) is a Canadian writer, photographer, and artist who is a member of the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation of coastal British Columbia.

He is a Canadian multi-media artist from Fort Rupert, British Columbia, known for his ability to work in number of media.

In the 1990s he went on to develop a highly personalized and controversial style of carving, using masks to comment and editorialize contemporary history and society.

[1] For the Biennale, Neel exhibited his contemporary masks in a site-specific installation and did a performance on the Grand Canal using his 26-foot dugout canoe, the "Walas-Kwis-Gila" (Travels Great Distances).

Also in the 1990s Neel produced a number of limited edition prints, some of traditional Kwakwaka'wakw subjects and others of dealing with contemporary history, much like the masks.

[2] The Way Home, his memoir of his experience reconnecting with his indigenous heritage, was shortlisted for the 2020 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.