A prominent theme in my work is the way the here and now is
shaded by echoes of the past – whether by one’s own personal
memories, or by the collective, cultural ethos. In the Boneyard series,
I began by exploring my personal attraction to the haunting hulks of
rusted-out automobiles and trucks from America’s industrial heyday:
the beautiful, sinuous and sculptural objects that were once the proudest
of possessions, embodying both the idealism and sexual mystique of
the times – now, hidden from sight in junkyards, the decaying cultural
detritus of a bygone era. Inevitably, the series took on additional
resonances and facets of meaning, not least of which being the
metaphor of a great nation, built on an inherent belief in human
strength and goodness, now searching to recapture its lost soul.
– Sally Grigas.
