Operation of the Sun through the Cult of the Hand
1987
70 varieties of traditional to arcane materials and chemicals
10 x 17 x 60 feet
A mythic, alchemic, scientific investigation into the origins of words, materials, and form, from Chinese and Greek sources. Based on the solar system, astrophysics, exploratory data from Pioneer 10 and Mariner 4, and rare books on the subject of alchemy.
Mercury: The Principle of Polarity –The Orbital Rebus
wood, magnet made from everyday metal
Mercury: ball
copper, nickel, brass, steel, iron, rare earth metals
Venus: Conjunction & Entrapment
left leaning oyster in a heart-shaped puzzle of copper, steel shucker, net shaped like the Ys and Cs, cuprous nitrate used to patina metal
(lower) Earth: Ceration & Putrefaction
delta-shaped “core” sample of iron, steel, granite, twigs, fungi, bark, earth, wax
(upper) Mars: Fixation and Desecration
chiseled steel, camellia oil, olive branches embedded in clay, arranged in the shaped of the Chinese character “Fa”
Jupiter: Circulation & Self Sacrifice
hand blown glass, red oak, silk
Saturn: Deception & Digestion
rawhide, lead(Pb) with vein patterns from human head, salt
Uranus: Castration and Concealment
Chinese paper, gauze, mud, ash, spikes, brad, squid ink, Chinese silk, cherry, chalk
Uranus (detail)
Neptune: Filtration, Purification, and Desire
bronze, black gorgonian fan coral, cast wax, cannabis
Pluto: Projection & Permutation
coal, helmet of alchemic gold (arsenic, copper, manganese), more