Siphon (for My Grandmother)
Apache tear (obsidian), towel, and gin
72" x 36" x 1"
2011

detail:



The name "Apache tear" comes from a legend of the Apache tribe: about 75 Apaches and the US Cavalry fought on a mountain overlooking what is now Superior, Arizona in the 1870s. Facing defeat, the outnumbered Apache warriors rode their horses off the mountain to their deaths rather than be killed. The wives and families of the warriors cried when they heard of the tragedy; their tears turned into stone upon hitting the ground.
Because of this, these stones are supposed to be able to take the pain from the owner's life.