Cerberus’s Den

Cerberus (the three-headed hell hound who was famously dognapped by Heracles) and his den at the entrance of the underworld offers a figurative and literal portal to the earthly, Chthonic realm. In my sanctuary, Cerberus has been reimagined as an aardwolf. Much like Cerberus of myth, aardwolves spend most of their time away from the surface world in subterranean burrows. Generally nocturnal foragers (unlike other hyenas they are not scavengers but subsist on termites), they are shy and rarely seen by humans. My only contact with the species has been with victims of roadkill. Such encounters are a sad reality because their termite prey have found a niche on farmland and grazed pastures. Amidst tangled wooden roots, his three heads protrude from their den. The rest of his body is hidden from view. How far does the den extend, and what else might be hiding in its secretive depths?

Concealing Cerberus’s body was a conceptual tactic to draw attention to the predominantly invisible processes which constitute the activities of the biosphere. The low position of the den mouth also encourages viewers to peer, or even bend down. This action is symbolic of the importance of paying attention to the earth, noticing that which is usually overlooked.