Emily Young b. 1951
Speleothem Head, 2022
Onyx
7 7/8 x 4 1/8 x 7 1/8 in
20 x 10.5 x 18 cm
20 x 10.5 x 18 cm
Copyright The Artist
Provenance
From the artist's studio
Speleothem is a stalagtitic form of Onyx which is a durable type of microcrystalline quartz and is a gem known for its ability to be carved into highly detailed sculptures...
Speleothem is a stalagtitic form of Onyx which is a durable type of microcrystalline quartz and is a gem known for its ability to be carved into highly detailed sculptures thanks to the parallel bands of colour that carvers can cut away to produce depth. For this reason it is commonly used for jewellery, cameos and intaglios, but Young has taken this to a much larger scale. Young's objective to unify the human with the natural world through her work is expressed most literally in busts, where a face is hewn but almost seems to emerge out of the rock.
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