40.9169° N, 72.6625° W - the misfortunes of virtue at the heart of the fertile delta in the land of hyper-reality.

Exposed ruination; invisible sublimation: an intimate portrait of love.

An installation that incorporating environmental elements from the delta of Riverhead. It was a positioning of an itinerant sort dangling from the edges of hyper-reality. There were two locations - 1. under exterior stairs and 2. the house foundation carcass to left of Artsites main building.

My personal and global interest in positioning led me to consider how we position ourselves to live, fail, succeed, often stumbling in close proximity to others, asserting our place in the world,  psychologically strategizing, navigating shame and and determination to conquer.

Riverhead, positioned at perhaps the most female of geographical places on the east coast is a kind of crotch but really it's a delta, the fertile place. And yet, typically, Riverhead, as metaphor, is maligned and positioned as the ignored part of double land mass....it's most probably not even be considered as part of the summer vacation.

Culling from my French heritage, I'm alluding to the French Revolution -- but the title reference to Justine written by the Marquis de Sade is much earlier. Justine, the virtuous of two sisters who, rather than dishonor herself submits to a life of abuse and cruelty. Others who could have helped her chose rather to abuse her further. The  more she desires to prefer her virtuousness, the more she is abused. An interesting component of human nature, that of the sadist whose behavior is nurtured through virtue. Quite cleverly, de Sade poses the double-tined question about the very nature of virtue and whether indeed it is virtuous, and if the maintenance of it hinders survival.

In the decaying foundation of the structure is, "Revolution Pants" - an indoor outdoor drawing in a "for sale sign" tucked into the remaining foundation of a small structure to the left of main building at Artsites. The unknown lower half scutters across the ruins. and is the lead-in to the rough-hewn enclosure under the stairs which can only be viewed from the outside and refer us back to that which is ignored. You have to use binoculars backwards to see some elements.  The eau source is a calling back, calling back that sits under the stairs that we use to get higher.

Structure/shelter, deterioration, the river, the fertile delta, and phallic containment, all essentials of life.

Caterina Verde