Herms

Herms

A herm is typically are composed of largely unprocessed stone blocks, featuring a carved portraits and oftentimes the genitals. These statues were frequently used along roads in Ancient Greece and Rome, and were frequently used as road markers and path guides. I was instantly smitten by these objects, the instant familiarity with them, as archetypal art objects, as well as the associations of minimalist sculpture, in its relationship with the body, and the uncanniness of taking them out of their original contexts.

This first piece within an eventual series, is a reflection upon an experience of being sexually assaulted, and is titled after a ceremonial performance piece I created as a part of my undergraduate thesis, and involved laying in a box with dirt, and having large masonry stones stacked on my body.

Process and Development

This piece is inspired by the association of herms as road markers with crossroads. Within a variety of spiritual practices, crossroads are nexuses of spiritual energy, where the physical world comes close to the spiritual realm. Crossroads can be used to manifest wealth, send away unwanted guests, amplify curse-work, and draw deeply powerful transformational energy. As a herm was a path marker, they would oftentimes be placed at crossroads historically, and due to proximity, have access to the same properties.