Tony Hanning was the first contemporary Australian glass artist to work extensively with the techniques of cameo glass. 'Cameo glass' originally referred to the style of 19thcentury French glass designers such as Emile Gallé and Daum. The technique, originally developed in ancient Rome, was revived in Britain, Europe and America in the late nineteenth century. In this process, layers of different coloured glass are blown together (or 'cased') before being carved and engraved, which reveals the colours of the inside layers.

This work refers to the Japanese woodcuts and design of the Japonisme that influenced the late 19th century French Art Nouveau style. Hanning's depiction of a derelict Australian maritime industrial landscape in the style of a Japanese woodcut suggests the early, and uneasy, relationship between art and industry.