In this latest body of work, Gostelie grapples with the visual and architectural language of power—how myths manifest as monuments, and how structures shape belief.
The seductive and almost sublime forms of hay illustrate a juxtaposition between truth and myth, image and reimagination, reality and photography. Gostelie’s images are deliberately 'constructed' from elements that are 'real', yet the resulting composition is something we recognize as fictional. The evolution of the primary image mirrors Gostelie’s assertion that humans are inclined to believe stories that, although constructed, exist as cohesive forces. Gostelie’s latest works offer a compelling dialogue on monumental-like shapes that reference an inherent drive to build, dismantle, and reconfigure symbols of authority. At a moment when colonial statues fall before our eyes, reshaping public spaces, authoritarian leaders are tightening their grip across the globe, rewriting history not just in stone, but in policy and power. As historical narratives and monuments are being contested, dismantled, or redefined, Gostelie’s work asks: What remains when the structures we revere are reshaped? What new myths do we construct in their place?