Family, 2008, serigraph and pencil on paper, edition REM 16/20. SFU Art Collection. Gift of the Salish Weave Collection of George and Christiane Smyth, 2022. Photo: Janet Dwyer
In Coast Salish artistic practice, both traditional and contemporary art forms serve as mediums for storytelling, recording history, expressing values, and preserving language. Luke Marston’s serigraph Family exemplifies this purpose.
In Family, Marston depicts an eagle embracing a wolf, both of which are animals that hold significance within Coast Salish beliefs and designs. These animals, respectively, may symbolize Marston’s and his spouse’s familial ancestors. Eagles are ancestral figures that represent many prominent Coast Salish clans; they are associated with intelligence, peace, power, and vigilance. The eagle’s embrace of the wolf emphasizes the importance of family and unity.
Wolves are respected for their strength, agility, intelligence, and most fitting to this print, their devotion to family. Moreover, Marston’s inclusion of a pencil remarque of a wolf near the eagle’s lower wing, set against a full moon, adds depth to the symbolic message. This further reinforces the theme of familial bonds and underscores the values represented in Marston’s artwork.
Luke Marston (Ts’uts’umutl-hw) (b. 1976, Vancouver Island, British Columbia), a member of the Stz’uminus First Nation, is a Coast Salish artist and carver. Marston’s parents, Jane and David Marston first introduced him to carving but he continued learning Salish history, traditional stories, and carving techniques from Coast Salish artist Simon Charlie and Haida/Nisga’a artist Wayne Young. Marston regularly collaborates with his brother and fellow artist John Marston. Marston has exhibited in Canada, the United States, Portugal, and Japan. He has been commissioned by the Canadian government, the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, Vancouver’s Stanley Park, and the Vancouver Airport. Marston’s work was in two major exhibitions: Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design (New York) in 2005and Transporters: Contemporary Salish Art at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in 2007. His work has been collected by SFU Galleries (Burnaby), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), and UBC’s Museum of Anthropology (Vancouver).