Sterling Ruby's EXHM (Exhumation) and DRFTRS (Drifters) series are compelling components of his broad-ranging artistic oeuvre, embodying his fascination with geological and psychoanalytic themes. These series further exemplify Ruby's interdisciplinary approach, blending sculpture, installation, and earthwork to explore concepts of archaeology, memory, and transformation. Both series, while distinct, share thematic connections and illustrate Ruby's profound engagement with the processes of decay, regeneration, and the passage of time.

The EXHM series comprises large-scale sculptures and installations that resemble archaeological digs or excavations. In these works, Ruby uses a variety of materials, including dirt, metal, foam, and found objects, to create complex tableaux that evoke post-apocalyptic landscapes or abandoned industrial sites. These pieces often suggest a process of uncovering or revealing, as if the artist has excavated layers of cultural debris to expose the underlying tensions and contradictions of contemporary society. The act of exhumation in these works serves as a metaphor for the excavation of repressed memories or hidden histories, highlighting Ruby's interest in the psychoanalytic process and the materiality of memory.

Conversely, the DRFTRS series focuses on smaller, often wall-mounted pieces that incorporate a diverse array of materials and objects, including cardboard, fabric, and spray paint. These works are characterized by their collage-like aesthetic, in which disparate elements are combined to create new, hybrid forms. The DRFTRS series evokes themes of drift and displacement, suggesting objects that have been detached from their original contexts and set adrift in a new, undefined space. This series reflects Ruby's exploration of the notion of drifters—not just as physical objects or people in motion but also as psychological states of being untethered or in flux.

Both the EXHM and DRFTRS series reveal Ruby's deep engagement with the landscape—not only as a physical space but also as a psychological and cultural construct. Through these works, he interrogates the ways in which landscapes are marked by human activity and how they, in turn, shape human identity and experience. Ruby's use of found materials and objects in both series underscores his interest in the cycles of consumption and discard that characterize modern life, pointing to the environmental and existential implications of these processes.

Moreover, these series underscore Ruby's ability to move between scales and media, from the intimate to the monumental, and from the found object to the fabricated form. By doing so, he creates works that are at once deeply personal and universally resonant, reflecting on the human condition in the face of societal and environmental change.

Sterling Ruby's EXHM and DRFTRS series are vital expressions of his ongoing investigation into themes of decay, transformation, and the human impulse to both create and destroy. Through these works, Ruby not only challenges the boundaries of traditional sculpture and installation but also invites viewers to reconsider their relationship to the material world and the layers of history and meaning that it contains.