the unknown region

a project from last fall semester, inspired by the Carols of Death by Schuman, who wrote an amazing set of poems by Walt Whitman. the completed pieces contain a lot of dissonance and are perhaps some of the most difficult sightreading i've come across. this particular hymn is called "the unknown region," and it deals with the uncertainty of death and the courage necessary to face grief.

dar'st thou now, oh soul,
walk out with me toward the unknown region
where neither ground is for the feet
nor any path to follow?

I know it not, O soul; nor dost thou,
all is a blank before us
all waits undream's of in that region,
that inaccessible land
...


this was created by combining melted wax behind a pine lattice. the photos were taken with the morning sun providing a backlit effect.