lessLIE
Artist Statement
Born in 1973 in Duncan, B.C., lessLIE’s “colonized,
Catholic, Canadian name” is Leslie Robert Sam. His
“decolonized artist’s name” is lessLIE. Picasso once said
that “art is a lie that tells the truth.” lessLIE is living
this perspective in the spirit of trickster traditions.
lessLIE has a Bachelor of Arts degree in First Nations
Studies from Malaspina University-College. While
working on this undergraduate degree, lessLIE began
to study Coast Salish art in 1995. lessLIE is currently
working on a Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary
Studies with a focus on Coast Salish art at the
University of Victoria.
Works by lessLIE can be found in the collections
of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Canada,
and the Westfälisches Museum für Naturkunde
(Landesmuseum und Planetarium) in Münster,
Germany. The Two Rivers Gallery in Prince George,
British Columbia, presented a solo exhibition of his
work in 2009, and Alcheringa Gallery has presented
three solo exhibitions of his work so far.