Archaic Corruption

2019

A collaborative piece between Nicole Nienow and myself,
sculpted over the course of three months. This piece is true to size, with real antlers,
deer bones, stones, wood, plants, and ceramic.

The buck is laying down displayed on a shipping pallet, its body dismantled with the back end transitioning into rocks, moss and fungus. The ribs are twisted, broken pieces of wood, suggesting subtle hints of violence, and yet with the fungus and moss, there is a hint of hope and regeneration in the cyclical nature of the bucks death. But an irony lies in the fact that this buck is petrified in this state of decay (literally and metaphorically through the use of fired ceramic). This fact draws connections to the history of taxidermy, and the animal as a trophy—another form of control over the animal and natural decay.