Sculptures
Whilst waiting for delivery of the silk screen products, I started making my sculptures, I inked up my 3Ft etched plate sealed all the sides and the base and mixed the Crystacal, I left this to rust in the mould for 48 hours, when I took the mould away I was left with a black and white etched sculpture with embedded rust, once dry I sealed it with concreate sealant this makes it water repellent. This product is very strong so I had to use it in a well ventilated space and wear the correct PPE. This sculpture has a derelict appearance and looks like a monolith.
Above image etched sculpture
I have also bought pigments to use with plaster, Crystacal and Fibrocem.
Mixing them with the water before adding the plaster enabled me to get an even colour without marbling happing, I also discovered that the colour is stronger if you add it to the water first.
I created a yellow etched pyramid but this was not as successful as the black and white version, it lacks contrast.
I want to create 6 pyramids that can be exhibited together, my third one was layers of black and white which is smooth at the top and course at the bottom, the fourth one is black with yellow security tape embedded inside, unfortunately not as much of the security tape showed through as I had hoped, but I will try this one again and I want to keep embedding things associated with my experience during lock down within plaster.
Triangular sculptures
June
Today I made a 5ft sculpture, I have not taken it out of the mould yet and I have a feeling it is going to take a few days to dry, the weather is damp and the studio is cold, so I will have to be patient. Originally I wanted it to be red but the pigments get diluted by the Crystical and I didn’t want a large pink sculpture so I went for Orange it’s a contrasting colour with the surroundings the sculpture will be set in and it is also used as a warning colour which is part of my concept. This is one of the sculptures I hope to print text on when its dry.
A week later
It’s been a week and it’s still not dry so I carefully took it out of the handmade mould and removed the clay supports which were also still damp, that’s how cold the studio is at the moment and I’m worried if the weather doesn’t change soon this sculpture wont dry in time for it to be assessed. I still need to silk screen the text on it and let that dry.
Obelisk
I’ve been researching obelisk (Tekhen) which orginated from Egypt, they are monolithic and were built to celebrate the Sun God Ra. They are covered in hieroglyphics. Which link with my use of text on sculptures.
Riots
The BLM demonstrations happened, after the death of George Floyd, who died at the hands of police offices, this tragic and avoidable death has swept the world into a frenzy. Why has it taken so long? I do not feel I can create art around this subject I don’t have the personal experience to do it justice but whilst researching BLM, I discovered the treatment of individuals with disabilities in America is shocking, up to 50% of deaths by police officers are disabled, many of them are killed in their own homes. Disability is something I do understand, I have lived experience of and can’t imagine living somewhere where I have to fear the police. There are parallels between the experiences of both groups of individuals they are both miss treated by the police, less likely to get employment, gain a higher education or have good health and are more prone to dying from covid-19.
This period is like no other in my life, there is so much stimulus around and we are at a point where many of us are questioning our history and reflecting on our lives. I’m doing a lot of research and writing at the moment, the more I read the bigger my thirst for knowledge seems to be. This has definitely been a period of growth and development for me.