About

Marlo Wylie Brillon, also known by her Haida name Xaaylingtso (meaning "sunbeam breaking through the storm clouds"), is a Cree and Haida artist. Marlo is Cree both of her parents, from Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, and her Haida lineage comes from her mother’s side, from the Laana Tsaadas Eagle Clan. 

         

 

Although Marlo grew up away from Haida Gwaii, in Comox, B.C., her mother, Kalga Jaad Erin Brillon, made sure to instill in her the teachings of Haida culture from a young age. This included songs, stories, and cultural lessons that shaped her artistic journey. Marlo began performing at the age of six and later started learning formline art at 14. She also became interested in screenprinting around the same time, and by the age of 16, she was working full-time as the lead printer at Totem Design House, her mother’s Northwest Coast life style brand.

At 17, Marlo began developing her own designs, with mentorship from her uncle Jesse Brillon (Haida) and artist Andy Everson (K’ómoks and Kwakwaka'wakw). Her artistic practice continued to evolve as she worked alongside her partner Karver Everson (K’ómoks and Kwakwaka’wakw) and furthered her knowledge of bentwood box making through Richard Sumner (Kwakwaka’wakw).

Marlo’s contributions to the arts have been recognized with the YVR Art Foundation Emerging Artist Scholarship in 2020 and 2021, allowing her to exhibit her work at the Museum of Vancouver. In 2021, she also interned at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where she helped correct records and contributed cultural insights while supporting outreach to Northwest Coast communities.

She completed her BA in Anthropology at the University of Victoria in 2022. In the same year, Marlo exhibited alongside her uncle in The Mover of Metal: The Art of Dimension at the Haida Gwaii Museum, a show that later traveled to the Bill Reid Gallery in 2023. During that year, she also traveled to Whitehorse, Yukon, to learn traditional copper-making from Brian Walker, further enriching her skill set.

           

Since 2017, Marlo has been an active member of the Kumugwe Cultural Society, where she works to share and teach her culture, promoting education, cultural revitalization, and a deeper understanding of Indigenous history.

For Marlo, her art is about much more than aesthetic creation — it is a journey of reconnection, reclamation, and nurturing the knowledge and traditions that define her identity. Through her work, she is dedicated to honoring her cultural heritage and is committed to continuing her learning journey, particularly in the revitalization of the Haida language. Marlo hopes that through her art, these teachings will be kept alive for future generations, helping to push the boundaries of what it means to carry these traditions forward.