Axis Mundi
Axis Mundi
Georgia Henkel, Lina Tharsing, Liz Swanson
The axis mundi is broadly defined as a line of connection between heavenly and earthly realms. Stretching from the hidden depths of the earth's interior, across the horizon and into the sky above, the axis mundi encompasses a triad of distinct strata that share a common thread: their existence as cosmic realities manifesting spiritual wonder.
Georgia - Earth: rich layers of carbon and bone; animal, burial, root.
Lina - Horizon: a threshold of change and shift; a portal, an orienting force.
Liz - Sky: infinite space, unknown; clouds, color, lightness, air.
Axis Mundi, 2025.
Artist Statement
On road trips, whoever rode ‘shotgun’ was assigned the task of tallying roadkill. These tallies—scribbled on receipts, candy wrappers, or whatever trash was handy, included special categories: UIM (Unidentified Mammal) and UIB (Unidentified Bird) Some of these records are tucked away in the bull bag on “Snapper Love’s” stick. My children grew up with the understanding that containers in the freezer did not always contain what the label claimed.
All the organic materials in these tableaus are from a lifetime of treasure-hunting. I knew that someday I would find a purpose for all of the bones,
and flotsam, the slice of potato with a chunk of my daughter’s finger on it from a Thanksgiving mandoline mishap as well as the foot-long
hairball (with toothpaste cap and Barbie shoe) that clogged up the shower in 1998…
The architecture and symmetry of skeletal systems are sacred and perfect, smelly and fragile. Transforming rigid body parts and other detritus into tableaus that evoke humor, terror, desire, and empathy serves as a means to further celebrate and pay tribute to the complexities and histories of discarded lives. The lingering energy of what remains…