Host (Turtle Tower)

24 x 24 x 72 in.

Bisque and glaze fired stoneware, ball moss, steel support

Presented in the solo exhibition Collective Intellegence at ICOSA Collective

2026
“Host (Turtle Tower)” is an outdoor ceramic sculpture designed to evolve through its relationship with the surrounding environment. The work slowly changes as the rain, insects, moss, algae, and microorganisms become collaborators in the sculpture’s continual transformation. It is a vertical column in the shape of an infinite column of stacked turtles. 

The stacked turtle form draws on the widespread image of the "World Turtle," a mythic figure that appears across cultures as a symbol of endurance, continuity, and the interconnectedness of life. Variations of this cosmological image appear in South Asian traditions, numerous Indigenous creation stories of North America, and East Asian folklore, where the turtle is associated with longevity and wisdom. The phrase "turtles all the way down," derived from this broader tradition, has since become a philosophical metaphor for infinite regress: the idea that every explanation rests upon another. 

In “Host...” the idea of infinity is not endless repetition, it is a process of continual remaking. 





Host (Tompte)

24 x 12 x 36 in. 

Bisque fired stoneware

Created 2012