"The Toolbox" is a functional, handcrafted rectangular vessel constructed from Paldao (Pacific Walnut) and Ebony. This piece takes the form of the worker's toolbox. It is a utilitarian object essential to everyday labor, yet only noticed when placed on a pedestal.
I chose this wood grain because of the vertical striations. Each layer rests on the one before like sediments compacted over years. It represents how each generation builds on top of those that came before. Each generation builds better tools, to make better things, that can make better tools. The piece was crafted using the very implements it is designed to hold showing the cyclical and intertwined nature of labor and creation.
By rendering it with meticulous craftsmanship, the work elevates a mundane item to an object of visual prominence. It demands visibility for the unseen labor that built what we have today. The work attempts to critique the unfortunate reality that the essential, labor-driven foundations of our world remain unseen and unappreciated unless they are explicitly elevated.
