In his project for the city of Ravenna (year 2020), the artist has adapted the ancient Byzantine tradition of mosaic in photo-based compositions. This series references the renowned 5th and 6th century mosaics of Ravenna, created when the city was the western capital of the Roman empire, and the contemporaneous Tomb of the Julii, with its mosaic depiction of Christ as a pagan sun god. Composed of loosely arranged tiles that simultaneously coalesce and break apart, the crowned figures that emerge evoke emperors and popes. With gaping mouths and apprehensive expressions, these fragmented, dissipating forms loom large amid dark starry skies. These constellations of half-formed, recycled powers from ancient Rome shape-shift their way through space and time, lost and searching. Contemplating the enduring potential of myth, they offer us the specter of belief and the lost promise of tomorrow.
Jane Ursula Harris
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