Log. Dryads series 

Kinder Album created this sculpture, “Log. Dryads series,” from glazed ceramics. The work presents a sawn log, from which emerge two human feet. The figure of the dryad, or tree nymph, comes to us from classical antiquity. Typically female and youthful, these deities were believed to animate particular trees or groves of trees. But by the 19th century, as the pace of deforestation accelerated, the dryad became a figure of elegy. The loss of forests implied the loss of something human, an end to the ancient contract between people and the natural world. Album’s sculpture might be a modern retelling of this ancient myth, perhaps offering a comment on the relationship between nature and culture in the 21st century. Social and cultural histories of mythology can help us to better understand the meaning of this unique artwork.