16 April 2018

Work for end of year group exhibition:

In February I had photographed two telephone poles near my home. They were covered with staples, which were the only evidence left of posters advertising past local events and lost pets. I thought they were interesting both in terms of their texture and their significance. I am fascinated by how physical objects can carry the traces of past events.

I decided to see whether it was possible to make a curved relief cast of a section of the post using clay to take an impression of the surface from which I could make a mould. I made a small quick test piece, which successfully captured the detail and I found it was technically possible to make a curved section using plaster rather than a solid cast, which would help reduce the weight of a larger piece, which was to be 10 inches x 30 inches. I also tested embedding wire as a way of hanging the finished piece.

In order to make a curved surface I built a supporting structure from cardboard lined with carpet. I calculated the correct diameter of the post and adjusted for the thickness of the clay and the carpet. I added curved cardboard sections with right-angled corners (which I fastened with a hot glue gun) to keep my box square and to provide extra support for the cast along the full length.

I made a pattern for the wire fastening using thin bendable wire, then bent thicker wire to this shape using a vice and pliers.

I drew the size of the finished piece on a sheet of plastic with markings for the centre so that I could line this up correctly in the supporting box. I rolled the clay out on the plastic sheet until it was approximately a centimetre thick and I extended it beyond my lines so that when I removed it from the post if there were finger marks these would be removed with the excess clay. I also made end pieces from clay so there would be a top and bottom to the cast, giving it a more solid look.

I used Herculite No 2 plaster, which is stronger than fine casting plaster. I found the casting process challenging as the plaster went off very quickly, giving me only a few minutes working time. I worked in layers adding jute scrim for strength. After the addition of water, some rust staining occurred from the wire while the plaster was drying. It bled through as it was fairly close to the surface. I had mistakenly thought it was anodised aluminium, which would not have rusted and will know to check for this in future.

I have had to decide whether or not to paint the finished plaster cast. Although I like the rich colours of the original post, leaving it unpainted connects the work more closely to archaeological casts, which document fragments of past history.  I have chosen to do this as it is conceptually closer to my ideas. It also becomes a thing in its own right, rather than an imitation of the original. I am very pleased with the final result, particularly as it was a technical challenge for me.