The Shifting Ecologies of Self
series by Amanda Matthews
Also known as Messengers, this series investigates sculptural "third entities”—forms arising from nature that 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 network is reprised as mythic bodies through newfound kin. Growth unfolds from deep within a storied thread, roots of connection long thought dead.
The Last Time Your Name is Spoken short film is part of this series.
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 weighted histories 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.
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Thuja:
Tree of Life,
Dryad
Thuja, inspired by a section of cedar resembling a human leg and torso, is an intersex figure challenging the gender binary. Named after the Latin for "tree of life," Thuja symbolizes the union and balance of Yin and Yang—forces in Eastern philosophy that represent complementary aspects of existence. This form highlights the interconnectedness and spectrum of these energies, embodying their harmony and fluid interplay.
Rupture
Cast from discarded cicada exuvia, these tiny silver sculptures capture the moment of rupture as a visual and metaphorical ecotone—a fertile space of becoming.
Rupture represents creative destruction.
It signals an irreversible beginning of a new phase defined by vulnerability, renewal, and growth.
Rhiza:
Honeysuckle Root Dryad
Inspired by a large honeysuckle root, Rhiza’s name, derived from “rhizome” or “root,” reflects her connection to Nubian heritage as the foundational agrarian society. She embodies resilience and adaptability, symbolized by her bronze and silver jawbone necklace inspired by historic women’s adornments that doubled as tools and weapons. Rhiza channels mystical energy into creative acts, finds purpose in working the land, and leads in harmony with earth’s cycles—viewing death as renewal and every ending as a new beginning.
Scabbard
Drawing inspiration from a burl shaped similarly to a vulva, Scabbard embodies the concepts of protection and creation. Historically, the term "scabbard" referred to the sheath of a warrior's blade, commonly associated with male ownership, while its Latin root, vāgīna, later came to denote anatomical structures.
The complex grain of the burl mirrors the folds of the vulva, arising as the tree heals from stress or injury. In parallel, the vulva and womb serve as sites of healing, development, and adaptation. Scabbard thus stands as a symbol rich in metaphor, representing resilience emerging from adversity and the dynamics of power. The name evokes the memory of weaponry, alluding to historical contexts where feminine identity has been framed in relation to 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 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 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.
Eos Maquette right
Eos Detail left
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 wood, cast in bronze. Like a paleontological figure unearthed from a fossil bed, it carries the impression of a creature gone long ago. Relic is a testament to maternal sacrifice. The anguish of loss is etched onto the soul, 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.
Selected Two-Dimensional and Bas-Relief Work in earlier Messenger Series
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 data suggests humans have existed here roughly 300,000-400,000 years. Therefore, humans represent less than a minute in the 24-hour day that is the life of trees.