About the Exhibition:

The Amulet Series

There are cultures around the world that believe in the concept of the three deaths. The first death is when our loved one dies. The second death is when our loved one is buried, and the third death is when our loved one is forgotten.

The first hanging Amulet is the crudest of them all. I had no idea what I was doing but knew I wanted to make a lasting physical tribute to my mother…for me, not for the world. And because I imbued the spirit of my mom in the piece as I struggled to balance the sculpture and my life, it became not only a reminder of my mother but a defense against the third death. No matter where the piece ends up in the future, it will always be a testament to not only my mother but to all the mothers who have gone before us.

As I continued with the series, they became not only symbols of all-important losses, but of triumphs, revelations, great love, even births…touchstones that mark all of our lives.

The Briar Series

During the process of grieving my losses, I began finding refuge among the thorns. I remember as a child, I used to hide under the lowest branches of large bushes and shrubs as hiding places, for fun, and from adversity. I remember the smell of the earth, the calm it presented, and a comforting coolness from the summer heat.

I began to turn the thorn imagery I had developed in my art from the heartache of my losses to a safe place, a home to rest my head, lick my wounds, and just breathe. The briars I sought out as a child, gave me a sense of time out so that I might emerge later from the thorns to continue on.

-Paul Medina