UKTENA

The feather does not soften the fang.

Uktena takes its name from the great horned serpent of Cherokee tradition, a mythic being associated with a brilliant stone. The work does not reproduce that figure literally. It draws together the serpent, the jewel and the winged presence as a contemporary sculptural apparition.

Black feathers open symmetrically around the face, extending the mask beyond its human scale. At the centre, a dark serpentine surface, exposed fangs and a small green accent concentrate the gaze. Softness and threat occupy the same body.

The face becomes an intermediary form: human in origin, serpentine in expression and avian in its expansion. Makeup leaves the duration of the skin and becomes a lasting sculptural gesture, while the shadow-box fixes the encounter between concealment, flight and warning.