Leshy
2023
found pine, felt
72 x 28 x 30
Thisconnection—between survival and belief system—and my desire to understand it,has facilitated an unwinding of the truths that I have been presentedwith. I wonder what truth came beforethis one, and before that, and so on. There are whispers and echoes among ancient stories, folktales, andfairy tales. This sculpture is called Leshy,a Slavic spirit who roams the deepest recesses of the primeval forest. His favor is fickle—he is just as likely tosabotage as save. This wildness andunpredictability—can I extract this from something that has been tamed and domesticated?
Leshy iscrafted from a pine tree that cast shade and protection on my parent’shome. During a spring storm, it wasstruck by lightning, a compromising event that served as an invitation tocreatures that crawl and creep. Andsoon, it leaned too far and became a threat. Felled by the family and milled by a neighbor, the tree has beenprocessed into lumber. It has sincebecome many other things, but I wonder if somehow it can once again bewild. Can this thing that has been grownand harvested and processed still inspire awe, mystery, or even fear?
