Upcycled waste material (denim, wire, inert invasive plants, etc.), steel round bale livestock feeder.
8' x 8' x 4'
The circular form of Sherry Davis’ The Woven Gate reflects the agricultural cycles of Sylvester Manor both metaphorically and literally (especially in its use of a repurposed round cattle feeder as an armature). At the same time it physically frames the actual landscape of the Manor – allowing the observer to see it in a new context. Woven with upcycled material (denim jeans, wire, invasive plants, etc.), the sculpture also functions as a gateway – evoking the gates of both heaven and hell from Paradise Lost. One can see hell in the detritus that comprises the gateway, and at the same time see heaven as the “garbage” is turned into something beautiful. These two seemingly irreconcilable ways of viewing the sculpture bring to mind Sylvester Manor’s own discordant story, which includes both the ugliness of slavery and the beauty of nature.