Andy Wilbur-Peterson, Salish Man, 2004, carved cedar and paint. Gift of the Salish Weave Collection of George and Christiane Smyth, 2021. Photo: Rachel Topham Photography.
Andy Wilbur-Peterson
Salish Man is a significant work by Andy Wilbur-Peterson, whose practice asserts Coast Salish culture through his carving that incorporates both contemporary and traditional techniques. This mask is carved in cedar and is simple in its form. It depicts a human face with an eye design painted in ochre along the forehead, thick black eyebrows, round black eyes, round cheeks with dark red paint on the nose and lips.
Andy Wilbur-Peterson’s work reflects and reinterprets traditional Coast Salish art and contributes to its resurgence. Wilbur-Peterson has been carving for three decades and collaborated on poles raised in Washington state. He learned at his grandfather’s knee the traditions and legends of his Coast Salish ancestry and predominantly designed work in the Salish form-line style which is distinguished from other groups because of its particular delineation of shapes such as the trigon and crescent.