Micha'el, Michael, Mīkhā'īl, 2017, cast iron, limestone, 9”x 5”x12”.
Micha'el, Michael, Mīkhā'īl, is a cast iron replica of a broken Saint Michael statue left at the site Gain and Cost, a public artwork at Socrates Sculpture Park. In this work, the public was invited to leave objects, “devotional or otherwise” over the course of nine months. The original plastic statue was offered with wings, sword and shield broken off, unknown as to whether its owner removed these out of distress, spite or despair. The two figures locked in struggle in the original plastic offering were exemplary of a tradition of racialized depictions of good and evil in commercial statuary. The title of this work is an incantation referencing the cross denominational saints’ inclusion in multiple spiritual texts as a protector with the ability to overpower dark forces.