Preston Singletary has spoken about how his ongoing practice in glassmaking has shown him that “glass brings another dimension to Indigenous art” [1]. Further to this, “the artistic perspective of Indigenous people reflects a unique and vital visual language which has connections to the ancient codes and symbols of the land, and this interaction has informed and inspired my own work” [2]. Fittingly, in the 1982 documentary, Joe David: Spirit of the Mask, Joe David speaks to the art that he creates as not being “a tribute to the past, but a tribute to a living culture” [3].

The classic, seamless nature of a bentwood box is highlighted and honoured by this stunning blown glass collaboration. The formlines of Joe David’s design give a tone-on-tone look to the glass sculpture created by Singletary: it’s a subtle design that is beautifully “crowned” by the rows of operculum shell shapes that pop against the frosted glass.

1. Preston Singletary, “Artist's Statement,” PrestonSingletary.com, www.prestonsingletary.com/about/

2. Ibid.

3. Joe David in Joe David: Spirit of the Mask (1981), Robert Lang, Kensington Communications.