In a gorgeously illustrated exploration of the art of Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Mischief Making disproves any notion that play is frivolous. Deploying mischievous tactics, Yahgulanaas shines a spotlight on serious topics.

Expressive and exuberant, comic and imaginative: these characteristics suffuse the work of the internationally recognized creator of Haida manga. His distinctive style stretches, twists, and flips the formlines of classic Haida art to create imagery that resonates with the graphic vitality of Asian manga. Mischief Making delineates the evolution of the artist’s visual practice into a uniquely hybrid aesthetic, uncovering its philosophical underpinnings.

This engaging, beautiful book reveals the artist’s deep understanding of the seriousness of play. As he investigates the intersections of Indigenous and other worldviews, the politics of land, cultural heritage, and global ecology, Yahgulanaas disrupts the expected, allowing different ways of experiencing, knowing, and seeing the world to emerge.