This sculpture is made out of found materials (metal cover to an electrical box -I think), fencing wire, burlap, house paint, acrylic paint, masking tape, newspaper. The five strands of wire running over the top of the skull echo the common 5-wire fence used in the west to fence out livestock. The law of the west, leftover from the open range days of the big cattle barons, is one must fence livestock out of their property if they don’t want them on their land. Today the conflict of fencing out has more to do with private land owners “locking the gate” and denying access to public land and/or historically accessible private lands. Whether the reason is political, personal, environmental, or economical, at the heart of this conflict lies a culture clash pitting “locals” against “outsiders.” This age old story has layers and layers in the west and evokes charged emotions for so many people who have had an intimate relationship with the harsh environment of the west for lifetimes. As humans we like to make things black and white for ease of a sense of righteousness, when usually they are layered in greys.