LUKE MARSTON
(B. 1976, Vancouver Island, BC; Coast Salish)
Luke Marston is a Coast Salish artist born on Vancouver Island, BC. He is considered one of the most exceptional Coast Salish artists producing work today. His work is highly renowned and he has completed commissions for the Canadian government, the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, the Vancouver International Airport and the Vancouver Convention Centre. Marston created a Healing Bentwood Box for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to represent and honour the survivors of the Canadian residential school system. Also known as the Medicine Box, it was a centrepiece of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that travelled across Canada. It now resides at the National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.
Marston's masterpiece, Shore to Shore, was unveiled in April 2015 at Brockton Point in Stanley Park. Three years in the making, the 16.5-foot bronze-cast cedar sculpture is a tribute to his ancestors: Joe Silvey, a Portuguese adventurer, and Silvey's two wives, Kwatleematt and Khaltinaht. Marston is the great-great-grandson of Silvey and Kwatleemaat.
