<< / >> / weeping willow, scorched and unscorched / 36" x 48" x 60" / 2013

"samothracae" means "of the greek island of samothrace", most famous for the discovery of the "nike" or "winged victory of samothrace", in 1863 by a french archaeologist. the sculpture had only one wing and a partial chest but was reconstructed by the louvre into the harmonized, hybridized whole we know of today, one of the museum's most prized artifacts. unlike the greek figure, this piece is more transfigurational, where one form is emerging from the other through a process of rupture. instead of being white, my piece is rendered in black by scorching the outer wood, transforming it away from the tree and towards the human.