Katherine Sankey 

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'Chthonic' ​2020

burnt tree (found), plinth, plumbing, electrical components

208 x 90 x 120

Exhibited at 190th RHA Annual Exhibition 2020 (invited artist).

Chthonic, the Greek word for subterranean is also used to describe the gods of the underworld who carry the power of the earth in contrast to the sky gods who are powered by the sun. The ideas for this kind of sculpture slowly came about through firstly a great love the linear nature of trees and their roots and by extension how they also hold our living planet together; the boab trees in ‘The Little Prince’ (where the roots intertwine around his tiny planet) come to mind. The plumbing aspect took many years to join up with the trees in my work. A catalytic moment was during a house renovation when some walls were pulled down to reveal this almost living root-type system hidden within. The burnt upper part, conceptually working from the global forest fires of last summer and the power of the organism to persist; once the pandemic seized our lives quickly became a way of looking at alternative survival on a basic human level. This piece is the first in a trilogy. Chthonic Part 2 & 3 is now open in RUA RED, Tallaght, Dublin - taking up Gallery 2 during their Winter Open which runs 14 Dec 2020 to 24 Jan 2021. See their website for details: www.ruared.ie

www.katherinesankey.com