Capitoline Wolves is an installation made for conversations about fantasies of Founding Brothers. Five tables have been placed in a pentagonal formation under the grand dome of Sibley Hall at Cornell University. Each table resembles the she-wolf that raised Romulus and Remus; the cherry-wood table has bent hind legs of steel, distended udders of stoneware, and a hanging mirror for a face. The she-wolves’ breasts have been filled with water from Ithaca’s gorges. Throughout the installation, a delicate bowl with a single hole is placed in a breast, sinking to the bottom to mark the duration of conversations.

Surrounding the tables are stools which can be stacked together to form a life-size Roman column. The column can also be tipped on its side and used as a bench. This sculptural furniture, called DIY Ruin, takes its shape from smugglers who took ancient columns away in sections. This project draws on the North American adoption of classical motifs in the organization of social life and of social space on campus. The columns mimic the Ionic columns used in buildings education, justice, and government in the United States, particularly the columns of the White House.

The she-wolf tables and column sections form a fifteen-foot diameter installation that welcomes dialog about power.

For the Cornell University 2016 Biennial, curated by Stephanie Owens, opening September 15th. Fabrication: mirrors and copper bowls by Caroline Woolard, woodwork by Mahlon Huston and the American Wooden Column Company, metalwork by Ian McMahon and Julia Helen Murray, ceramics by Alex Zablocki.