skull

The Fetal Crown

in

Figure Twenty Two.-The Fetal Crown
2018. 15.5”h x 9”w x 9”d.
Human fetal tibias and ulnas, Bronze, Mahogany, Resin, Blown glass, Gold Leaf, Silk, Acrylic, Hardware.

A crown of leaves upon the crown of the head. The cross of mending fetal skull plates and the crossing of bones. Youth and death, the echos within life.

Custom bell jar by Richard Jones at Studio Paran.

Experientia Nostra Ossiferous

in

Figure Eighteen.- Experientia Nostra Ossiferous (Our Ossiferous Experience)
2014-2018. 19”h x 16.5”w x 16.5”d.
Human mandible, Bronze, Mahogany, Resin, Blown glass, Gold leaf, Silk, Acrylic, Hardware.

Experientia Nostra Ossiferous is a sculpture that blends the forms of the reliquary with the anatomical display. In a parallel sense, it draws its visual inspiration from myth, the Roman god Janus, and a rare congenital defect, diprosopus. Janus is the god of time, beginnings and endings. The Janus Head is characterized by two faces, one looking to the future, one to the past. Diprosopus, also known as cranialfacial duplication, is an extremely rare disorder whereby facial features are replicated to a certain degree.

Bone holds its history and can be read like rings on a tree. As it grows and lengthens, as it breaks and mends, all can be told in diagnostic imaging. The title of the sculpture could be translated to "Our Ossiferous Existence", an existence we all move through, and like the Janus Head, hold one face to the future and one to the past.

Bell jar made by Richard Jones at Studio Paran.