Colloquium cum Mea Umbra

Colloquium cum Mea Umbra” from Latin means “Conversation with my shadow,”

This sculpture is concerned with the parts of the self that are difficult to examine directly.

The figure is shown with a snake, not as a narrative antagonist, but as a presence closely bound to him. The snake can carry several associations — instinct, fear, sexuality, knowledge, danger, change — and I am interested in that instability of meaning. It is neither simply threatening nor protective.

The title refers to the idea of the shadow as something formed by what a person excludes from their conscious sense of self. These excluded parts do not disappear. They continue to influence behaviour, desire and perception, often without being recognised.

I wanted the sculpture to focus on that relationship rather than on resolution. The figure is not overcoming anything, and the work does not propose reconciliation. It presents a state in which a person becomes aware of something within himself that he cannot easily name or dismiss.

My work is representational and naturalistic, and I use the body because physical form can carry psychological tension without requiring a fixed narrative. In this sculpture, the body, the snake and the space between them form a single situation: a private conversation with something that is already part of the self.

Material: Bronze, traditional patina
Dimensions: 88.5H x 45W x 33D cm (with the marble base)
Limited edition of 15