On Being Human

At first this looks like a minimalist Maple box on a pedestal. Approaching it, you notice something odd – there is a dark knot in the center which seems to subtly glow.  Lifting the lid you see a column of tree bark and below it a Maple sapling. This art piece is a reflection on how we as humans take something that is alive and “messy” (irregular patterns of the bark, the smell of wet earth, etc ) and make it into something quite different: Smooth, angular, dead, but also with its own beauty. The goal is not to judge but to ponder this deeply human transformation. (Another interpretation sees the box as how we present to our surroundings while hiding unknown depths.) The construction of the box subtly alludes to the vertical lines of the log and the circular pattern of the growth rings.