Stone Nocturnes explores the confused feelings and the obsessive thoughts brought on by sleepless moonlit nights. The series had a complex genesis, shaped by a combination of factors. The pieces are carved in Tennessee Pink marble, which was repurposed from the remodeling of the Australian embassy in Washington DC. The entire facade was demolished and I salvaged a few pieces from the rubble. The stone bore remnants of their architectural past and came in weird shapes – results of a summary destruction. The irregular shapes offered the opportunity to create something different, to move on from the symmetrical, sleek forms I had been working with. This new direction meant using more texture, highlighting the beautiful marks made by my favorite chisels.

Some of the marble pieces included engineered inserts that secured the stone onto the building. I took on the challenge of incorporating them into the work because I wanted to preserve elements of the stone’s history.

The warm hues of the marble recalled a moon face I created in terracotta many years before. Soon, a lunar theme commandeered  my exploration, and the asymmetrical shapes steered it towards the idea of insomnia.

A few year prior, sleeplessness had found me and stayed for a while. During that time, I learned that insomnia and the moon are faithful companions; whenever one arrives the other is not far.

Suddenly, all the elements fell into place. The asymmetry, the metallic inserts, the pockmarked texture became the vocabulary for describing the feelings and emotions that sleeplessness bubbles to the surface. Sometimes sharp and uncompromising, other times murky and confusing.