​This piece was created as a “Dancing Sculpture”, meaning that I changed the figure's pose during the sculpting process so as to explore the character’s physical and emotional movement, before settling on its final form. The repeated shaping caused it to crack, leaving visible traces of its evolution.

 

According to myth, Hermaphroditus - the beautiful and delicate child of Aphrodite and Hermes - spurned the love of the nymph Salmacis. Desperate, she begged the gods never to be separated from him. They granted her wish, merging their two bodies and thus punishing both - her for her obstinate longing, and him for his vain rejection. The result is a being who is both desiring and repelled by desire, both inviting and denying.​​