Lidded Vessel no.1

Lidded Vessel no. 1 is part of the multimedia oeuvre of Corey Pemberton which often explores his African and European ancestry. Pemberton holds feelings of otherness and ambiguity in his sexuality and racial background. That source of othering is a connecting thread throughout his work as he uses it to connect with his ancestors through aesthetics. His vessels represent a transatlantic aesthetic: patterning after South African weaving techniques and shaping glass after European vessel styles. By celebrating this hybridity, he acknowledges complicated histories.

This sleek, egg-shaped lidded vessel has a narrow band of beige, orange, and green murrine pattern at its top and bottom; inbetween, .a wide asymmetrical band of white, orange, and blue cross-hatched murrine looks almost stitch-like. According to the Corning Museum of Glass, murrine glass making includes multiple layers of glass dipped in molds of various sizes. Each layer may be a different color; after the final layer is on the glass, Pemberton applies heat again to mold the layers into a shape. The many layers make the cross-hatched designs that he is known for.