Breakers

The striking sculpture can be seen literally as seven horses plunging through the surf after a shipwreck, or fancifully as the magical transformation of an ocean wave into a would herd as it charges a shoreline. The shift from a green patina an the swelling back-water to the white on the foam and horses suggests that the muscular fusion of horseflesh and seawater into a natural force of similar power occurs just as the wave is about to crest. Although, it is difficult to attribute the precise source of an inspiration, two influences can be cited that contributed to the idea behind this piece. As a child, Star was fascinated by the storybook illustrations of Arthur Rackham. His skill at creating a world in which the real blended with the fantastic freed her own imagination. Also, near where she grew up in rural Maryland is the island of Assateague, where there exists today a herd of wild ponies thought to be the descendants of a herd that survived a shipwreck centuries ago. Each year the National Park Service swims the herd to another island where a certain number of these ponies are auctioned off as a way of controlling their population. No doubt the inspiration for “Breakers” lies somewhere in the play of Star’s imagination with the story behind the ponies of Assateaque.