Ava Graves, Broken, 2024, acrylic on ceramic with mixed media.

Broken depicts a fragmented bust of a flamenco dancer, adorned with traditional details including a red flower and earrings. The figure’s broken form serves as a metaphor for the effects of globalization on cultural traditions, exploring how practices rooted in a particular place and history can become fragmented, altered, or diluted as they move across borders and cultures.

The contrast between the recognizable symbols of flamenco and the fractured body emphasizes the tension between cultural preservation and transformation. The sculpture reflects on what can be lost when traditions are removed from their original context, while also acknowledging the ways culture continues to evolve through exchange.