In recognition of the Sapphire Mines of Sakaraha, Madagascar. The Sapphire Mines of Sakaraha are known for 40% of the world's lucrative supply. Think about that. Sapphires beautiful to the eye you say? But are they? As seen through the eye of the serpent it transforms lives - but who's? The one's that afford these trophies maybe, but certainly not for those mining these luminous beasts. This sculpture is a tribute, an onomatopoeia of their stories... 'The Trade' perched on its stone foundations one moveable as the relentless sands of the mines; the other unshakably overshadowing the trenches of the lives it engages or replaces. The serpent requires only one eye to oversee this methodical engine. Gems so beautiful, magical, mystical with origins so venomous. I would hope that the viewer can comprehend that behind every semblance of purity and beauty, something bleeds.