Untitled (Seven Headed Dragon)

David Butler fashioned a garden of pounded, cut, and painted metal forms around his Louisiana house. His sculptures fuse biblical imagery with characters from his dreams. The tiered layers, attached parts, and cut-out shapes created an animated array as wind and sunlight played across his installation. Butler, with other African Americans across the South, blended Christian beliefs with folk practices to create spaces that felt self-determined and protective in a world that was often harsh and unpredictable.