We meet our distant selves in a fire that rages deep inside. It is a ritual encounter where the otherworld reveals itself. The euphoria of love, the pull of desire, the intensity of flames – licking, scouring and scorching – that culminate in a state of ecstasy.

This marble piece, composed of interlocking panels, is part of a larger series that explores themes of rapture, intervention, and otherworldly communication. 

These pieces are inspired by rangeomorphs, ancient hybrid plant-animal organisms from the Ediacaran Period (635–541 million years ago), characterised by fractal branching patterns in which each sub-unit mimics the shape of the entire organism. My sculptures echo this logic, with serrated, flame-like edges giving volume and structure through their repetition. 

The choice of marble adds an important geological layer to this exploration. As a metamorphic rock, it forms from the deep-time compression of ancient sedimentary carbonates, often derived from marine life. There is a poetic circularity in using a material birthed from the sea to recreate the forms of Earth’s earliest complex marine organisms. The inherent translucency and mottled veining of the light grey marble evoke the ghost-like, soft-bodied impressions found within the fossil record. In some areas, the marble is worked so finely that light can pass through it. These moments are slow and hard-won, allowing me to imagine a connection between vast geological histories and experiences that are ethereal and sublime.

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Photographs by Matt Slater, courtesy of Reservoir.