Memory Stones
In the series Memory Stones each object serves as a referent to an unknowable past. They do not represent a memory or a history, but Memory, and History. The form is common to many ancient objects and cultures so that the observer finds intimacy with the object within their own experience.
The scars on the surface of the Memory Stones allude to the neglect of objects when removed from primacy in a culture and speaks to a lost significance. The observer is asked to speculate on the original significance of the Memory Stones in much the same way an archeologist must interpret a culture from its unearthed artifacts.
These objects have a special significance to me personally. Each of the stones in this series were underwater for a period of weeks after Hurricane Katrina. They then sat undisturbed for many weeks more before I was allowed to enter and try and rescue what I could from the wreckage of my studio. Each of the Memory Stones uses natural metals, not colorant, to achieve their texture and color. Due to the circumstances of the flood each stone received a natural patina and the look of the work is a natural result of the destruction of the flood that followed the hurricane. Beauty from destruction is ironically the inspiration for much of the aesthetic in my work.