Totem and Calf

Twin sculptures. The plastic development of the cattle carcass image in metal.

Calf and Totem continue a long row of works by Dmitry Zhukov that touch the theme of conversion of flesh into metal and the motif of weaving. Sustainable combination of these subjects inspired the sculptor to call his workspace a "flesh-spinning shop".

In both works, the carcass of a hybrid animal is pulled asunder and encased in metal warp beam throughout the perimeter of a bizarre loom. Turned into metal, Calf and Totem resemble microchips, rigid and forked at the same time.

The image of the pig carcass is firmly entrenched in the history of arts as an allegory of the Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. A great many artists have referred to this image over the centuries, from Rembrandt to Bacon. Dmitry Zhukov continues the dialogue with the history of arts itself. He uses the properties of the material in a unique manner to convey the triumph of the spirit over the physical shell, the triumph of the divine over the earthbound.