Stephen Wozniak
Ora et Labora Asteragon
2023
OSB, enamel paint, acrylic paint, urethane, solid polished brass
6” H x6” W x 5” D

Some pieces from my Asteragon sculptural series are about attention and rebirth. The series title is a combination of the words “asterisk” and “octagon.” The pieces are a kind of denotation (eight-pointed asterisk) and stop sign (when seen head-on) at once. They ask us to stop and pay attention to the spare symbolism presented and the phenomenon of engaging with the work. One piece, Ora et Labora, is composed of two stacked, overlapping asterisks, which when viewed directly, add up to octagons – geometric shapes commonly seen in art and architecture as a reconciliation between the heavens (circle) and Earth (square). The white asteragon below is like an ashen specter – the death of a past state of being. The yellow and blue asteragon “phoenix” above, alive and accessible, almost tangible and in reach, is ready for flight. The blue perimeter is applied seal paint found on the edge of whole OSB sheets in lumberyards. These individual small rectangular pieces have been sealed and healed whole, given another life after they’ve been cut from the mother cloth of the larger full sheet. It’s what I imagine for all those who have lost and fallen. It loosely alludes to my hope for Ukraine in recent wartime years.