Lamentations 2020
In Lamentations, I am making a connection between the notion of a heavy-duty material, long-lasting object and the idea of remembrance. I want to inscribe line work that records my present state of mind (June 2020). Whether it is through the televised murders of black people from police brutality or the rising count of Covid victims, there is an internal and universal mourning taking place. Thus, this series is to process these particular deaths, as they are being experienced this year.
The work is comprised of figurative engravings on oxidized steel that evoke rituals of burial. Inspired by ancient carvings, these impressions include architectural and geometric shapes that connect with bodies, capturing mental and spatial dispositions. The aim is to reflect a sense of heaviness subjectively and objectively. Each sheet of steel is pierced at the center top, allowing for the protrusion of a steel wire and suspension of a granite cube, symbolizing pendulums as well as emotional load.
All pieces: Engraved oxidized steel, stainless steel cord, wood, granite