Ziggurat
Ziggurat
Molted cicada shells, resin, gold leaf, wood, and table
41 x 30 x 26 inches
2020
Ziggurat reflects on anthropocentric structural hierarchies through the architectural form of the pyramid constructed from an accumulation of resin-dipped molted cicada shells. Pharaoh cicadas (Magicicada septendecim) incubate for 17 years underground before emerging for a month to molt once and breed. The shed skins of these insects were collected by the artist in 2019 and 2020 from Maryland and New York to construct this form built from the materialized lived experience and ghostly remains of these unique organisms.