The “angle of repose” is the angle dry solids will naturally rest at without slumping when piled on a flat surface. Think, a settled pile of sand, or oatmeal, or pebbles. Angle of Repose is also the title of a famous novel about an older man excavating his ancestral past to try to understand his aging present and what it means to no longer be the responsible generation.
Angel of Repose looks at similar themes and celebrates our need for each other. We “settle” in to a community that, over time, becomes a second family to trust and rely on. The angle (or slump) of middle age referenced in the novel has an unquestionable nod to mortality. The wood used in this work has a limited lifespan that refers back to its source material of the mother tree. This begs recognition for the spirituality needed for community, while also referring to the “all ages” nature of a forest. As we age, we need each other more and more, while we also mentor and guide and parent and support.
The piece is made up of hundreds of individual triangles, each as unique and quirky as the next, all assembling to create a vast interconnected network. Without the triangles that surround it, each would cease to exist. Much like those triangles, how could we exist without the support of each other?
As we emerge from our cocoons of pandemic privacy, may we remember why we live in this vast city. May we celebrate each other, and recommit to being each other’s angel protectors.
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