Project 1: Low-Relief Sculpture / Silicone Rubber
Made with Sculpey clay (oven-baked) and OOMOO Silicone Mold-making Rubber 30.
For this exercise, I wanted to make two conjoined twins with their insides exposed. I had difficulty using the silicone rubber (mixing it properly and pouring it out evenly) and after a few trial and error shots, I ran out of the material. I didn’t get the chance to complete the final portion of this exercise which was to create a plaster mold from the silicone rubber.
Project 2: Full-body Sculpture
Made with Sculpey clay and acrylic paint.
For this project, I created a small, surreal eyeball slug that fits snug in the palm of your hand. The inspiration behind this figure were the symbolic, horrific snails and slugs in Junji Ito’s 1998-1999 horror manga, Uzumaki.
Project 3: Puppetry/Performance
Papier Mâché hybrid animal mask, 2016.
Made from craft tape, aluminum foil, duct tape, soft material and acrylic paint.
Final Project: Flesh Cave
Made with Sculpey clay, aluminum foil, wire, hot glue, acrylic paint, and cardboard.
The flesh cave is an extension of the full body sculpture I had made previously: an otherworldly, bloodied slug with eyeballs lining its back and head. It is the living environment for this figure: a repulsive and surreal cave made out of flesh, with human fat and related bodily parts texturizing the inside. I created a base out of wire and aluminum foil, and then built onto that stature with mounds of clay. From there, I used craft and duct tape to papier mâché the inside and then began to build onto the internal details. After I baked and painted the clay, I made a base for the sculpture out of aluminum foil and cardboard, which was the weakest part of the piece. It isn’t thick enough to be a stable base, as the sculpture is already heavy. The concept behind the piece was inspired by my love for horror films, especially body horror (from the likes of David Cronenberg, Junji Ito, Hitoshi Iwaaki, and Clive Barker). I have always been interested in dark subject matters – the unknown, the ugly, the repressed and for this specifically, what we find disgusting and the stigma attached to that repulsion, and how to make something of that nature artistic and even beautiful (to a certain eye).
XO
