A BOOK OF VEILS

A Book Of Veils, 2026. Copper, brass, steel, cast aluminum, cast pewter, lava rock, cotton, hydrocal, and a Anthropocenic stone eroded by the sea likely of asphalt origin. 6" x 7" x 9".

Based on the story of Salome and Oscar Wilde's addition of "the dance of seven veils", this work is an exploration of desire and oblivion. It is a contemplative journey through the seven classical planets of antiquity echoing the seven levels of the Mesopotamian underworld that, mirroring Salome's veiled dance, Inanna must undress to pass through. Whether we go up through the cosmos or down into Hades, Oblivion and self-annihilation lay beyond the boundaries of endless desire. Salome acts here as a symbol of both unattainable desire and inevitable consequence. The viewer is both the Tetrarch and Jokanaan.

Created as part of the DOM Art Residence and exhibited in the European Cultural Center's Personal Structures 2026 show in Palazzo Bembo in Venice.