hiroshi hayakawa

VanDyke Brown print on glass, gold leaf, steel, iron oxide, lead, red oak, 22" x 21" x 3", 2018.

The first piece of a new body of work (I hope!). I am happy about the conceptual integrity of this piece. I wanted to make a piece about alchemy. Every single choice I made about the materials was intentional. Base metals: steel and lead, noble metals: gold and silver, transmutation of the materials aided by the presence of heat: from sand to glass. The openness of the model's body suggests her vulnerability, yet her direct gaze projects her emotional strength, I decided to name this piece after a Greek Goddess of universal remedy and eternal life: Panacea, which has a strong tie to alchemy. I am quite pleased with the result.