AGAINST. ALL. ODDS.

Bronze, 2024
W x L x H
18 in x 18 in x 6ft
Limited Edition of ONE
Cast Bronze, Cement Obelisk
Laura Teste

There are no better three words than AGAINST. ALL. ODDS. Somewhere in my reading, this quote stuck in my head. Maybe from Churchill- maybe from Sarah Winman.
This short phrase captures the resilience and unlikely bonds that emerge from challenging circumstances. My five figures dancing with abandon on a narrow wooden catwalk represent each of the five wits from Shakespeare’s writings: Common Sense, Imagination, Instinct, Fantasy, and Memory.

AGAINST. ALL. ODDS.

Five figures, five wits,
We danced orbits on a catwalk.
Five circled above,
A flight of doves, bodies unlocked.

Dream breathed, “Lovely stars!
We’re too fond of ours to fear the night!”
Good Sense called, “Greetings
From a fleeting spectacular height!”

Five psyches, five souls,
We dance the roles of wherefores and why.
Our insight permits,
And balance befits pearls to live by.

Instinct just sashayed
through worlds led stray by men and gods.
“We shall toast unbent
To this moment against all odds!”

Five ethos, five worlds,
Women from girls, goddess from sprite,
Each shared our purview,
Looking anew at our birthright.

“And what would we do
With this mad moon?” mused Memory.
“Trade it for the sun,
Think big, dear one,” laughed Fantasy.

We dazzle and spin,
Our shadows twinned ‘cross a high floor.
Fingers intertwined,
Our corps combined for our encore.