Several human heads lay in the corner of a room, surrounded by small ceramic fragments, their necks broken (Fig. 1.1). he viewer who chances upon this scene is immediately implicated in formulating a narrative. When and how were these ceramic heads shattered? Was it an accident, or an intentional act of violence? On closer inspection, the heads seem to have been carefully and deliberately arranged: their blank gazes follow the same axis of vision, while the smaller terracotta fragments are gathered into neat little piles at the bases of their necks hinting at the former existence of more parts. h is trace of an unseen agent intensifies the viewer’s search for meaning. Who do these heads represent? What relationship do they bear to one another? Our impulse to identify individual ‘portraits’ is renounced by the identical clay faces, each of which wears the same benign expression. he message that the heads communicate is that they belong together: they are ‘parts’ of the (whole) group, as much as they are parts of the (absent) bodies from which they have–apparently–been removed. h is intriguing scene is the creation of Christie Brown, a London-based artist whose sculptures engage with archaeology, mythology and psychoanalysis. Brown’s description of the work reveals how both the heads and smaller fragments recall–or literally embody–past objects and practices:

In Ex-Votos–Men and Women the heads are filled with the shards of past abandoned works, now destroyed as whole entities but reduced to indestructible fragments, which contain evidence of histories and memories. h is work, which developed into a larger scale floor piece, made reference to the ancient practice of gifts to the gods in exchange for healing and was informed by an interest in the parallels between archaeology and psychoanalysis where layers are carefully stripped away to uncover knowledge. Referencing the cataloguing and classification of museum artefacts, each head was marked in black with dollar or yen signs to indicate their timeless worth and the making method of casting and press moulding refers to the patterns and repetitions in human life. Ex-Votos was part of a larger series of work entitled Between