Haneen, sister of Mohammad Shehada who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, kisses his rifle during the funeral of four Palestinians in Nour Shams camp, in Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 3, 2024. (Photo by Raneen Sawafta/Reuters)

Italian illusionist Arturo Brachetti perfoms in the mirrored mazes of Camera Obscura on August 06, 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His show SOLO which is running at Pleasance’s EICC sees over fifty characters come to life through illusions, transformations and some magic tricks. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A fisherman sorts his fishing net at Kedonganan beach in Bali, Indonesia, 08 November 2024. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on 05 November 2024 has issued a policy that will grant debt relief to fishermen and farmers, by canceling non-performing loans for micro, small, and medium enterprises in the fisheries, agriculture and maritime sectors. (Photo by Made Nagi/EPA)

Sweden's Henrik Pilerud, inside the Totoro costume, and his team member Victoria Christensen (R) pose during an interview with AFP ahead of a rehearsal before the world cosplay championship 2024 during the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya on August 3, 2024. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

“John Thomson (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921) was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artifacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism. He went on to become a portrait photographer of High Society in Mayfair, gaining the Royal Warrant in 1881”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Ex Omnibus Driver. (Photo by John Thomson/LSE Digital Library)

A visitor looks at a sculpture entitled “Couple Under an Umbrella, 2013” by artist Ron Mueck during the press day for his exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris April 15, 2013. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

Flores Rodriguez, of Puerto Rico, performs with his dough during the freestyle event, part of the Pizza World Championships, in Parma, northern Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2013. The 22th edition of the championships run from April 15 to April 17. (Photo by Marco Vasini/AP Photo)

American sculptor Michael Alfano has been sculpting for over fifteen years. A native of New York, he now lives and works in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. His major influences are Salvador Dali, Jo Davidson, and Jean-Antoine Houdon, as well as Buddhist, Taoist, Sufi and other eastern philosophy and literature. He first studied at the Art Students League of New York, with an emphasis on life-size sculpture from the model. His formal education continued at Boston University and was augmented by internships with several prominent sculptors.