Pax Santi

Brooke and Veronica with Pax Santi, their 3D creation, and Marble Statue of a Lion, one of the objects that inspired their work

«As we walked through each gallery of the Met in order to determine the subject for our 3D sculpture, we were immediately inspired by the tranquility of Buddha Preaching the First Sermon at Sarnath in the Asian Art galleries. However, we were also intrigued by the fierceness of the Greek and Roman marble sculptures on display, and elected to combine both the head of the Roman Emperor Hadrian—currently on loan to the Museum—with the body of a lion.»

By using the computer application Cubify Scuplt, we discovered the beauty of the Buddha's body and how well it coordinated with the head of Hadrian. After creating a practice print using just those two works of art, we concluded that adding the Roman lion to the bottom of the piece would perfectly complete our design.

Once the pieces were combined, we noticed that the serenity of the Buddha overwhelmed the intensity of the Roman counterparts and decided to name the piece Pax Santi, which translates to "peace" and "tranquility" in Latin and Hindi, respectively. Our sole purpose was to connect the world's different artistic influences, and allow the audience to experience this connection through our own work.

Brooke and Veronika. Pax Santi, July 2013. Plastic polymer