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The Shifting Ecology of Self
series by Amanda Matthews
Previously known as Messengers, this series investigates sculptural "third entities”—forms arising from nature that can transcend traditional categories, such as race, class, ethnicity, even the boundaries between life and death. These beautifully fragmented bodies function as visual and metaphorical ecotones: fertile spaces between realms, and coalesce as thresholds, encouraging us to explore spaces of becoming rather than static states. The series employs cultural and anthropological perspectives to illuminate variations of rupture in figurative ways, underscoring themes of fluidity and dynamism.
From the detritus of time, the forest is reprised as mythic bodies through newfound kin.
Growth unfolds from deep within a storied thread, roots of connection
long thought dead.
The Girl Puzzle in NYC and the KY COVID Memorial similarly reclaim lives and legacies by exposing fragmented faces and damaged bodies in communal spaces.
Artist Statement:
My work investigates the interplay of identity and representation in relation to power, gender, and ecology. It makes space for voices and stories that have been persistently silenced, inviting the public to witness, reflect, and participate in the alchemy of shared memory and collective healing. Rooted in ecofeminism, process philosophy, and critical theory, my work serves as a liminal bridge—guiding viewers from histories of marginalization to unfolding, transformational narratives.
We are ancestor and descendant, amoeba and mammoth, hawk and mouse, forest and wind, chaos and pattern, particle and wave. We are all born from the same stars, sculpted from the same source, and contain the same life.
Please follow Amanda's work in real-time here:
Thuja:
Tree of Life,
Dryad
Inspired by a beautiful section of cedar resembling a human leg and partial torso, Thuja was born. Latin for “tree of life,” Thuja’s form is intersex and seeks to trouble the naturalized acceptance of a gender binary.
In the heart of Eastern Mysticism, Yin and Yang are forces that form everything that exist. Not as two warring halves, but as a singular, flowing river of complementary forces that give birth to all existence. Yin is the primordial spirit from which life sprang, the feminine—the soul and inspiration behind all action. And yang is the action, the fire for life, the masculine. If Yin is breath, then yang is the act of breathing—each dependent on the other to complete the circle or cycle. Like the ebb and flow of the ocean tide, Yin and Yang are not inseparable, with each containing a seed of the other.
The nature of the cosmos is one of an endless spectrum. Thuja embodies the sacred meeting place of these eternal forces, a living testament to the divine, fluid interplay of Yin and Yang. They are the harmony and mystery, the sacred paradox where the dance of creation is made manifest in exquisite form.
Rhiza:
Honeysuckle Root Dryad, Nubian
Inspired by a large honeysuckle root, Rhiza's name is a derivative of rhizome or root. Nubians are sometimes referred to as the "Root" of civilization as a very early agrarian society, rather than nomadic.
Rhiza represents a visceral force, embodying the will to procreate, adapt, and survive. She embraces the universe's mystical power, harnessing its mysteries and molding them into creative expression through interaction with nature. Rhiza activates a sense of place by deriving life from the soil and cultivating the land. A leader who lives in sync with the earth's rhythm, she gives of herself without reservation to enrich the lives of her descendants. Death holds no dominion over her, for the cycle of rebirth is evident in every facet of nature. Each end is merely a prelude to a new beginning.
Scabbard
Inspired by a gnarled burl that bore the shape of a vulva, Scabbard emerged from the heart of a tree. Her namesake, scabbard, was originally a sheath for a warrior's blade or gladius, often associated with a man as its owner. Typically made of leather and metal, the most prized were gilded bronze.
The Latin word vāgīna meant scabbard before evolving to its modern anatomical meaning. Richly textured and intricate in appearance, the swirling grain of the burl mirrors the varied folds and textures of the vulva and is created through stress, injury, or infection as a protective growth over a wound. Likewise, a vulva and womb are portals of healing, creating, and adapting.
Scabbard, therefore, is a creature of deep metaphor, symbolizing strength born from adversity, as well as subjugation. Her name holds the memory of a weapon of war, referencing a history where the feminine is defined by what it contains for the masculine.
Lilith
Lilith embodies the clash of reason and religious oppression. A champion of equality, she rebels against any doctrine that mandates submission.
An enduring figure of folklore, Lilith is cast as both goddess and demon, and is celebrated by many as history's first feminist.
She chose freedom and independence over a dominating companion and theology. Living among nature, she is revered as integral. For Lilith, Hell is revealed through unchecked power in the hands of the misguided.
Katsina:
The Sacred Dancer
Katsina is inspired by Native American Hopi dolls that represent the Katsinam, spirit messengers of the universe. Katsina looks to the sky for inspiration, needing no intermediary to express her wisdom, intellect, grace, and gifts.
She hears and understands the music of the Universe, and dances in rhythm with the elements as she moves through time and existence. She exercises reason and enlightenment, knowing the stars and trees are all sculpted from the same source and contain the same life.
Katsina was born from a small stick that appeared to be dancing, found while walking with my two small daughters along a riverbed in Kentucky.
Maquette 12" (Left) Enlarged bronze 6' (right)
Pan
Inspired by a section of horned, burl oak, Pan represents a faun. He is a Greek god depicted with hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, and the upper body and hands of a man.
Pan personifies the entire cosmos, embodying both the lower animal nature as well as the higher spiritual nature of humanity. This dual nature as both divine and animal plays upon the tenuous balance between chaos and harmony, the primal and the cultured.
Pan caused individual, possession-like disruptions of the psyche, or panolepsy, a euphoric alteration of consciousness sometimes referred to as divine mania. The word panic itself is attributed to Pan for many reasons. In addition, Pan was later known for his music, which was capable of arousing inspiration, sexuality, or even panic itself, depending upon the god's intentions.
Eos
Inspired by a spiraling section of wood, Eos' form hints of regenerative DNA, representing the fundamental essence or blueprint of all existence as one of constant renewal. She heralds a message of new beginnings, hope, and the promise of light after darkness as the goddess of the dawn.
She represents the triumph of consciousness over the void and embodies the fleeting, beautiful moments of transition, when possibilities awaken.
Her daily ascent across the sky signifies the unfurling of potential in every new opportunity. Her tears, which become the morning dew, express grief that contributes to restoration.
Amalthea
Amalthea, whose name means "tender goddess," is revered as the foster mother of the infant Zeus. Often depicted as a goat or a hybrid goat-woman, she nourished the future king of the gods.
When Zeus was a baby, a rambunctious moment led him to accidentally break off one of Amalthea's horns, which was transformed into the fabled Cornucopia, or "Horn of Plenty." It was imbued with the magical power to provide its owner with anything they desired.
After Amalthea's death, Zeus honored her memory by fashioning the legendary Aegis, his formidable shield, from her hide. As a final tribute, he placed her likeness among the stars, creating the constellation Capra, meaning "she-goat," to immortalize her nurturing spirit.
Relic
Relic is a horse-spirit dryad, mother and child, formed of jawbones and ancient driftwood, and cast in bronze. Like a paleontological figure unearthed from a fossil bed, it carries the impression of a creature long gone. Relic is a testament to maternal sacrifice. The anguish of loss is etched onto the soul of the spirit, persisting long after the physical form has faded and become part of the ancestral lineage.
Ptelea:
Elm Tree Hamadryad
Hamadryads are born inextricably bound to a single tree. Some hold that they are its living soul, unlike the dryad, who merely dwells within. When the tree falls, so too does its hamadryad; thus, the wrath of dryads and gods pursue those who injure these sacred forms.
THE HAMADRYADES were eight Dryad daughters of the forest-spirit Oxylos ("Of the Forest") and the nymph Hamadryas ("One With Tree") of Mount Oita (Oeta) in northern Greece.
The vast forest behind my childhood home offered communion, sharing deep connections through cycles of growth and decay. Harmony revealed wisdom among these ancient beings. Our sacred ancestors, trees appear to have lived on earth for approximately 360 million years, while humans have existed here roughly 300,000 years to our knowledge. Therefore, humans represent less than a minute in the 24-hour day that is the life of trees.
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