My proposal for the American Academy of Rome looks at the cities talking sculptures—a series of historical objects which represent both singular mythologies and contradictory, public discourse. I am interested in these sculptures as icons, or objects in juxtaposition to the Confederate-era statues recently removed in my current residence of New Orleans, Louisiana, and which have left behind, now vacant spaces throughout the city. My project begins with a series of questions aimed at the plausibility of creating singular images and objects that can encompass multiple narratives. How do we understand the role or effectiveness of iconography as a successful embodiment of contradictions, one which embraces a diverse set of mythologies and representations? I am interested in Roman sculpture and its physicality within urban space, as a means of proposing new objects which may be considered or adapted within the widely conservative, American South.