Staff III

Molly Spain

Staff III, 2026

Charred wood, tar paper, thread

68 x 1.5 in (172.72 x 3.81 cm)

$650.00

"I read a story over 35 years ago about a nation/tribe that solved the majority of their conflicts

through ritual. One of the opposing parties would take a staff and walk until their anger was

completely dissolved, plant the staff into the earth and then return to their community

unburdened. Upon their return, the opposition would then set out (if it was their choice) in

search for the staff, retrieve it and bring it back to the village in a symbolic gesture of

reconciliation.

This story, regardless of its validity or how I may have altered it in my memory over the years,

has inspired an intuitive journey exploring conflict resolution. What would it be like if we could

engage in ritual instead of verbal, physical or physiological battle when approaching peaceful

resolve? Building new rituals while deconstructing old perspectives and reconstructing future

openings for empathy and tolerance?

These staffs are displayed as symbols of conflict resolution not from outward verbal or physical

exchanges but rather from within. Which is ultimately where true peace lives."