CRUX
Artist's statement for the Spirit of the Southern Cross
~ by Joan Relke ~
Central Australian Aborigines saw the footprint of an eagle in the Southern Cross. Thousands of years ago this constellation was an object of reverence in the Near East. In Biblical days it was just visable at the horizon, and was last seen from the latitude of Jerusalem at the time of the crucifiction of Christ.
Still today, Christians see their sacred symbol in its shape. Now it revolves in the Southern Sky, a circumpolar constellation, barely dipping below the horizon. Visable even on a moon-light night, these stars form a provocative pattern. Perhaps it is a cosmic kite, fluttering across the night sky, its tail, the pointer stars, trailing behind.
As a sculptor, using the solid materials of earth, I created The Spirit of the Southern Cross to bring this constellation closer to us. She reaches up from her earthly home to grasp the rising constellation as it moves along its trajectory through the night sky. As it passes between her hands, she grasps it, momentarily connecting earth and sky - the world of mortals and the heavenly realm. She holds it like a cat's cradle, taut between her hands, before releasing it back to heaven.
Joan Relke ~ 11 August 2004