09/19/2026
“Aquesantiere” is complete. Aquesantiere is a personal work about motherhood, faith, sacrifice, blessing, and the bond between my daughter and me.
At its center is a ceramic sea turtle representing our relationship. Its black surface is dotted with rainbow colors resembling a galaxy, suggesting the darkness, uncertainty, beauty, and possibility contained within love.
Three spikes pierce the turtle, evoking the Crucifixion. A reclaimed metal figure of Christ rests within its body, while the antler above echoes the INRI inscription, connecting the natural form to sacred imagery. The turtle becomes both a symbol of sacrifice and a vessel holding holy water for blessing, transforming the sculpture into a devotional object: what bears the marks of suffering also holds something sacred to offer.
Reclaimed wood, salvaged metal, antler, ceramic, gilded gesso, and found religious imagery bring the weathered, discarded, natural, and sacred into conversation. Because the turtle represents my daughter and our relationship, the Crucifixion imagery reflects the surrender, endurance, protection, and sacrifice inherent in motherhood.
Aquesantiere is not ultimately about suffering, but about what can emerge through it: color from darkness, faith from sacrifice, and blessing from a wounded vessel. It is a meditation on a love that carries wounds, memory, and hope while still having something sacred to give.
