Obelisk Sculptures/Installations
In contrast to the idealized, yet antiquated, figurative imagery of the equestrian monument, the obelisk speaks in a formal language that is architectural and timeless. The solid form of the obelisk reaches upward to pierce the sky, impressive in its crisp and singular massiveness. Often quarried from a singular piece of stone, obelisks speak also of provenance, relating back to their place of geologic origin. For example, the many Egyptian obelisks scattered throughout Rome, taken as spoils of conquest, create narratives of cultural domination, both through the non-native nature of their physical material and their textual inscriptions, and through the military might needed to obtain and move these massive objects. Through my depictions of the obelisk as broken or misplaced, the form is liberated from its fabricated existence, free to crumble and decay into its natural material state.