Gary Keenan

Transformation

Jackson Park
East 59th Street and
S. Stony Island Boulevard

2020
Transformation is sculpted from a fifteen-and-a-half foot ash trunk that had been infested by the emerald ash borer. “She” was carved using several different sizes of chainsaws and fine-tuned with power tools such as angle grinders, die grinders, and a specialized belt sander. Inspiration for her came from a love and concern for the Earth. Transformation was created in early June 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, economic downturn, and racial unrest. Many commented that with all the “negatives” we were facing, she was rooted in the Earth, reaching, growing, and representing “positives.”