Ritual Cut (2009), as the title suggests, cuts into the land creating a ceremonial cross. These cross-shaped interventions are 4.5 x 60 x 75 meters and the geometricity of them suggests more of a ritualistic precision rather than a random cut. The cuts are not for decorative purposes and serve as a reminder of where a Jewish community had once stood and how it had been erased. The cuts are symbolic of ceremonial tattooing in which cuts are made into the flesh and then filled with a pigment to complete the tattoo. Here; the Earth is the body.
As the pigment is soil carried from Israel to Latvia, it could serve as a symbolic return of the spiritual presence of the community that was violently erased, and the soil perhaps serves as something laying them to rest. The work is a ritual ongoing with the land through the changing of the light, the growth of the grasses, and the erosion of the edges.
As it is set upon a hilltop in the Pedvale Open-Air Art Museum- it allows for the openness of the landscape to contrast with the more private and internal nature of the work if you were to enter it. The ridges cover and conceal the form until you are directly above or on it – letting you into the land artwork. The cut requires you to look down both literally and metaphorically into it.
Super Woman (1995) is a sculpture that seems like a table yet within the centre it has a bowl going inwards into the sculpture then below this, there is a womb-looking vessel. The texture of the marble is immense and suggests there is wear as it is not polished- showcasing its persistence. The work isn’t a representation of a woman but rather it embodies what womanhood- more specifically motherhood is with silence. The function is spiritual; the red-painting inwards bowl seems to mark life’s arrival – the bowl is full as suggested by the vessel below.
As the material is marble- it is traditionally associated with a permanence and some form of honour; this hence gives weight to its dedication; to “the woman who gives her life to children”. However, rather than romanticising this- it is through restraint as the lines are clean and the structure’s stance is solid.
Stratum (2013) is a calm land artwork as it is organic and contrasts with the inorganic constructed bridge behind it. However, the land artwork doesn’t seem to be against this but rather is calm and the contrast thus creates character for both of them. It is calm- while the bridge is hurried. The Earth has been shaped and rose by hand and points towards the sky. There is a spiral path that ascends this form and allows visitors to both literally and symbolically climb as it is walkable and tactile.
It invites the viewer to enter it and climb its spirals – even with the working title ‘stratum’- is geological. However, this meaning seems to point to time and meaning. The land shapes over time and will be continuously reformed with new beginnings and the grass will continue to grow across the land softening the sharpness of geography. This; therefore is living- is a part of the land and is subject to the very same things the land endures: weather, season and decay. It will eventually change and reform its shape but this is a part of the work’s life.
Chaplet (2012) seems to resemble a necklace which is too large for us to wear; the wooden logs form an oval; the work is not for human ornamentation but rather God’s necklace as mentioned by Preminger. A chaplet is a form of prayer that uses prayer beads- in which with this work- the beads have been turned into logs from trees, God’s creation, all carrying records of their own life and growth and thus this has been turned into an archive of time and life.
Each bead is not perfectly aligned in this work as their forms bend, strain and seem hesitant. The piece seems to acknowledge the impossibility of perfection through nature and see’s it as beautiful and not a flaw but the evidence of life: time and the subsequent erosion of time.
Landscape of Motherland (2006) lies upon the gallery floor as an earthen overcoat made from soil, polystyrene and artificial grass. The sculpture brings the landscape from being a background of our lives- to something that coats the body. However, the coat is not worn but it is laid down- the arms are outward yet it is not presented as just an article of clothing. But rather it is the shelter, homeland and memory. It protects and is home through its presence.
Coats usually shield the body from the weather and nature but here nature is the coat- it is what we carry with us when we leave a place behind. Furthermore, the placement of the sculpture on the clinical flooring gives the work contrast; the earth is inside – confined by the gallery yet it cannot be contained. Its presence is there and displaces the sterility of the environment; it does not mimic or attempt to change as it symbolises the motherland.
Rotate Rolling (2016) is an arch made from wooden reels which sits upon the field. While a rainbow within the sky is untouchable and celestial- this is a rainbow in that it is grounded to the surface and heavy. It is not a part of the atmosphere but of the labour and effort used to create this rainbow. The energy has been transferred materially creating a symbolic rainbow and repurposing lost energy into a beautiful installation. The wooden reels that were once functional are stacked within this curve which looks as though they are moving in slow motion. The motion of these has been converted into a form thus suggesting the material energy.
The wooden reels have not been changed (carved or modified) but is instead assembled with the marks and texts kept on the reels. It reminds us of their previous function and the energy that it had received prior now being repurposed to this installation.
Ladder to Heaven and Back (2023) ascends upwards only to suddenly bend and return to the ground. However, this is not a fall- it is more of a slow movement back which is smooth and progressive. The material usage of iron suggests that the structure is strong and perhaps permanent and has been placed with purpose within this world. It rises and returns to the land and it has to contend with the reality of gravity.
The sculpture engages directly with the environment it is surrounded by and the sky counterweights the sculpture; it suggests that one can go upwards but striving for this has a limit and that returning to the previous state is not regressing. Not every movement upward leads to salvation but rather the loop could potentially be the answer and one must go down and realise and contemplate. The ladder, here, is not a tool but rather a truth – life is not just about ascending but rather returning to the earth and for peace.
Door Game (2011) consists of three massive stone doors that progression on top of each other seemingly going forward (or perhaps backwards depending on where the viewer is viewing the sculpture). The stone doorways have rough edges and are unpolished making it seem as though they are excavations and have been unearthed. The doorways seem to visualise a stage of growth before the prior growth it is the slow growth of life that takes effort and time to develop themselves.
However, the doors are not just a linear path- who decides which door is the first to be entered- the viewer may choose another that is not typical and allows for their interpretation of this philosophy. If one where to look through the highest door first- it is regression; while the other side can be seen as a progression. It is shifting based on perspective.
Saucepan (2004) is a pan (most likely replicating a cast iron pan) placed within a pebbled space (which helps to give the space a meditative appearance). The pan is filled with jagged shards of stone; the pan is roasting the stone. The stone inside of the pan seems to go upwards as though it is a fire exploding out of the pan impressively. Or perhaps in a much more volcanic appearance like an eruption.
The saucepan is surrounded by a peaceful environment thus poking itself out simmering and cooking the stones. The work can be interpreted differently based on who looks at it- as the viewer is left to imagine the temperature and its satire. While others may lament or have faith in it – it allows for conversation and contemplation.
A Spoonful of Sky (2022) instantly takes the viewers gaze towards it. It has captured the sky and uses the curve of its structure to guide the viewer towards the sky. It has thus become a conduit between heaven and earth. The spoon has been anchored into the ground with its handle resting within the soil- further grounding it to the earth. While the end of the spoon; takes us to the sky- however this has been inverted and we are looking down into the heavens which has now become bottomless.
Furthermore, the work has a slight surrealistic aesthetic to it as the sky has been transported onto the object for which we would not recognise the sky to be apart of the ground. It is intangible but it has been captured into this sculpture. It forces us to not lose sight of the sky and gives us a moment to stop and think and contemplate on our life.
Towards the Sky (2022) is set upon an urban area and is a cut into the landscape which protrudes towards the skies. The Earth is now opening its mouth to speak to the heavens (as suggested in the description of the work) and it has become a voice rather than just a material. Furthermore, the grass is perfect- it is freshly mowed however the contrast is with the red soil which has been exposed. The red soil cannot be perfect and always changes through time.