April 27, 2015

Hapa Culture: The Artists

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Portguese 3

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A new monumental work of art was unveiled in Stanley Park on April 25, just northeast of the Brockton Point totems: Luke Marston’s Shore to Shore:

Shore to Shore stands at the site of his family’s ancestral village site X̲wáýx̲way, and celebrates Portuguese adventurer Joe Silvey (“Portuguese Joe”) as well as his first and second Coast Salish wives, Khaltinaht and Kwatleemaat. The artist Luke Marston is the great-great-grandson of Portuguese Joe and Kwatleemaat.

Joe Silvey was born and raised on Portugal’s Altantic Azores Islands, though after several adventures, Joe found himself on the Pacific, and an early pioneer of Vancouver’s Gastown.

The sculpture honours the link between Portuguese and Coast Salish First Nations cultures, marks the land’s rich heritage, and symbolizes unity for the Vancouver’s present-day diverse inhabitants.

Portguese.

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It’s an extraordinary time on the Pacific Rim, as the DNA of western and eastern peoples meet and blend, particularly in this strategic place on the west side of the Pacific pond. As Shore to Shore reminds us, it’s not unprecedented.

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So our art (and artists) reflect our hapa reality.

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Luke Marston

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Leave a Reply to AdanacCancel Reply

  1. It’s a really nice sculpture. It’s neat that a descendent designed it and that it’s on the spot of their home too.

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