Horizon (2022) 
Original
 
Hand Carved Surfboard 
48 x 15 in
 
The Glorious Middle
 
Who are you? Where are you from? For many of us in today's world, these simple questions don't have a simple answer. And those of us that live in this middle place will oftentimes give an answer we know to be incomplete or not fully authentic... I have lived in this place my entire life, in between countries and in between races. Yet it was from this unnamed place, that I was able to see the bigger picture. The symbolism of this place came to me one day when I was looking out into the ocean. I watched as several seabirds dove headfirst into the sea, breaking up the endless horizon and seemingly traveling into an alien world, while their seafaring counterparts energetically surged up from below, seeking refuge in the sky. This middle area between sea and sky, where the birds dive below and the fish fly above, is representative of the possibility that one can still joyfully embrace a world that they can never fully inhabit. This vision has led to the creation of my newest body of work, a series of sculptures intricately carved from high-density urethane and painted with colored layers of translucent oil paint. The ebb and flow of space between paint and sculpture, coupled with the colors of the sea and sky, blend the composition in such a way that there is no top or bottom… just a glorious middle.
- Ruben Aira Jr.