In my search for the new language, I built a small version of the larger sculptures, with the pattern and textures on the inside rather than external to the objects. I poured resin into it and bashed it off with a hammer, which I filmed but could not embed on this site. it cracked off in two parts and shattered on top, leaving a kind of negative of the form in quite a satisfying way.
I also covered a piece of Granite in layers of porcelain, stoneware and terra cotta, hoping for it to dry cohesively and to crack it off the piece. This is also a part of a collaboration with 2nd Yr Student Nathan Henton. We've been talking for a while about the cube, the interrupted line, natural materials, and the negative/positive. We have wanted to work together for a while, I consider it to be somewhat separate from my other work but informative of my general practice, even just in the conversation we have.
I'm also thinking about how to form tubes, how to form passages in the body to meet the orifice that I have been making. First step of this exploration has been casting existing sculptures of mine. This is one of the more elongated forms covered in alginate, ready to be cast in plaster.
The resin poured into my sculpture.
I think that this way of working may have something to offer. I have questions about the material though- the use of resin has to be meaningful within the project, I want the whole project to make sense conceptually, and have heart and be intentional, rather than just use what's available or make things that look nice.
I did have moments after cracking the shell apart when I asked- what was the point of the clay? I could have easily made a cleaner, more precise cast in silicone or even latex, but the clay offers a lot more chance textural qualities, and it also offers an experiential relationship with the viewer, rather than just being a sculpture that someone looks at.
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