The Rock Drill 1914

Jacob Epstein made *The Rock Drill* out of bronze at some point – when exactly? Who cares! The real question is: What was he going through? Look at this creature, part human, part machine – a total metal head. And it’s all in this mottled green, like it’s been sitting at the bottom of the sea or maybe it’s just a little sick, poor thing. Imagine Epstein in his studio, wrestling with these forms. You know, that drill bit jutting out—it’s so aggressive and phallic. I wonder if he was thinking about the war, about the way technology was changing everything, turning people into automatons. It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s a powerful one. Epstein was always pushing boundaries and that’s what makes his work so alive, even now. So next time you see a sculpture, think about the conversation it’s having with all the other sculptures that came before it. It's like they're all talking to each other across time.