David Neel belongs to a distinguished line of Kwakwaka’wakw artists, including his great-great-grandfather, Charlie James (1875-1938) and his grandmother, Ellen Neel (1916-1966). He has worked across a wide range of media as a photographer, jeweller, woodcarver, and author. This puppet, finely carved, dates to 1994, after Neel had returned to Vancouver and had studied carving with Beau Dick (see lot 111), Wayne Alfred, and Lyle Wilson [1]. The resemblance in style suggests the influence of Dick, who produced similar puppets around this period [2].

This Tokwit Puppet represents an emaciated man with articulated head, arms, and legs. Cedar bark ropes cross the chest, while additional cedar bark and deer hooves are tied to the ankles and wrists. Its mask-like face, with inlaid copper eyes and pegged-in hair, projects a gaze that is both unsettling and deliberate. Knife-finished details emphasize the thinness of the body, giving it a sense of brittle intensity. The movable limbs and gaunt features combine to create a figure caught between fragility and menace, a work that demands attention through its careful balance of technical precision and emotional force.

1. David Neel, The Way Home, (Vancouver; Toronto: On Point Press, 2019), pp. 72-73.