Shekinah

Presence + Attention

An interactive series of these sculptures responds to presence. As a visitor approaches, each one begins slowly rotating; it comes to rest again once they've moved on. The pieces are attentive only for as long as they are attended to.

The form

The hand profile at the center of each Shekinah is not invented. It's the same triangle thrown by the artists and athletes of Jay-Z's Roc Nation; a sign used in various positions by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; a symbol often read more broadly as masonic — diffused so widely through contemporary culture that its origin is rarely asked. The earliest evidence of the gesture is in nesiat kapayim, a ritual element of the Jewish priestly blessing. The shape repeats in the leaves of poplar trees, Apulian trullo stone huts, and pumo ceramic talismans, the last of these traditionally affiliated with the cult of Pomona, Roman Roman goddess of fruit, symbolizing fertility and abundance.

The Hebrew word שְׁכִינָה ("shekhinah") means "dwelling," most often referring to the dwelling of the divine presence. In these sculptures, the hands stand for the legacy of a life and all a person might do, touch, and create in their time on earth.