As the series developed it became clear that I was unconsciously making metaphors and models of evolutionary processes, both my own psychological development, and also the development of species. I began reading academic texts on biology voraciously. Utilizing the technique of slip-casting which creates virtually identical pieces from an original model – I generated a series of large rectangular vessels and stenciled a text from one of my father’s lectures on human evolution:

The environmental challenges to a naked, clawless biped with short jaws and small, low canine teeth must have been enormous.

It struck me as poignant yet funny, reminding me of childhood. The text across all four pieces, meant they could no longer be separated. Alone they would become meaningless. While they’d been identical when made, now they were utterly different from each other, yet joined in a new, almost social unity.