PARIS UNDERGROUND

Where space is limited, some cemeteries in Europe are not permanent resting sites. Plots are actually leased and if not renewed, remains are relocated, often times to these underground chambers.  One of the most disorienting and introspective experiences I have had was when I visited the Paris Catacombs where around six million unmarked, stacked skeletal remains line the narrow tunnels for miles. I was dazed by this endless amassment and struggled to see them as individuals. I cannot imagine sculpting a million mummies; however with Paris Underground we wanted to transmit that sense of disorientation that I felt touring the catacomb and then pull the viewer in to intimately explore the individuality and complex relationships among the figures.

• medium: earthenware clay mummy sculptures in repurposed letterpress (California job) cases.

• dimensions: 32′ x 67”