Feet, 2003, 22” x 11” x 4,” 56 cm x 28 cm x 10 cm, Aluminum

Bound Torso, 2003, 10” x 18” x 6,” 25 cm x 46 cm x 16 cm, Aluminum

Knees, 2004, 31 cm x 46 cm x 10 cm, Aluminum

Feet Together, 2003, 92 cm x 41 cm x 30 cm, Aluminum

Tied Up, 2004, 31 cm x 38 cm x 46 cm, Aluminum

Tied Up, 2004, 31 cm x 38 cm x 46 cm, Aluminum

This series of early metal work, Struggle, was realized during a critical time in my artistic development. By exploring depictions of the body cast in a stylized manner, in aluminum, sought to understand how our understanding of the body as a whole is different from our appreciation for various body parts. In the works, each imagined segment (arms, knees, feet) was wrapped with string, visually connecting the esthetic isolation of body parts to metaphors for the physical subjugation of people and animals. The objects portray fixity, the state of being immobilized, with roughly hewn, pulsating muscles forever trapped not only in cast metal, but in cast metal strings on the surface of that metal. Because the subject matter remains surreal and without a context, it portrays struggle in a generalized way, rather than critiquing any one particular historical episode.