Hair in wood

South African artist Chris Soal combines concrete and other industrial materials with found objects such as toothpicks and bottle caps to create conceptual sculptures. Often set in contrasting textural elements, thousands of single-use objects take on a new identity and aesthetic as part of a collective. The works are a commentary on the destructive relationship humans have with nature while also reflecting notions of value and perception.

Birch wood toothpicks are held in place using polyurethane sealants on ripstop fabric and board. The toothpicks, some raw and others burnt, fill spaces in concrete slabs and appear to form soft dripping patterns as they snake down to the floor. The artist tells Colossal that his use of these “mundane everyday objects” began after he snapped a photo of some in a jar while having dinner. After initially dismissing the toothpicks as “stupid and worthless,” experimenting with them a couple years later changed how Soal perceived the material. “I was immediately amazed by how they transcend their appearance as hard and sharp objects to appearing soft and luscious when arranged in mass,” he says. “I then began to question the fact that I dismissed them upon first encounter, and the work led me to interrogate notions of value and perceptions through the works.”

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From ThisisColossal.com

At this stagnant point in my work, I have been thinking of the introduction of different materials to broaden what I am making. The idea of natural materials like wood and latex kind of appeals, as well as the possibility of imitating the natural patternation of the body, like skin cells and strata, hair follicles and strands, systems of veins ect, the natural rhythm and sequencing of the forms that make up the human. The danger is being derivative, because these materials aren't entirely natural for me to be attracted to, because clay and wax are so much more familiar to me.