Shary Boyle, Beast (2007), oil on panel [West Vancouver Museum, West Vancouver BC, through May 8]

Beau Dick, Untitled (Pugwis, the sea creature) (2009), cedar mask [West Vancouver Museum, West Vancouver BC, through May 8]

Monster is a group show of contemporary artworks that brings together myths and legends from many cultures — Inuit, Kwakwaka'wakw and Chinese, among others. Artists have long used graphic depictions of anthropomorphic and animal forms as metaphors to address social, sexual and political issues. In fields as diverse as applied design, film, literature and art, “monsters” make concrete the battle between good and evil.

Darrin Morrison, curator of the West Vancouver Museum, appeals to the collective mind with a selection of artworks that play on our fears of both the known and the unknown. The images confront our anxieties and doubts; our belief in ghosts, spirits and aliens; and underscore the realities of torture, murder and bestiality. From comical to surreal, from fantastic to atrocious, the paintings and masks in the exhibit have been described as abounding with “man-eating demons, hair-pulling ghosts, wart-covered witches and black-tongued sea creatures.”

Monster showcases paintings and masks by Canadian and international artists Shuvinai Ashoona, Shary Boyle, Lutz Braun, Beau Dick, Marcel Dzama, Alexandra Flood, Sandra Meigs, Nick Sikkuark, Corin Sworn, Joseph Tisiga, Howie Tsui and Nicola Tyson. The exhibit is presented by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad and the Audain Foundation.

Mia Johnson