decapitated

this is a piece from a project i’ve been doing for Speke Hall, which is a National Trust property here in Liverpool.

their halloween event this year was a ‘zombie infestation‘ and i was brought on board to provide some appropriate props to go inside the house. i worked with a friend, dickie maroo, and we created a number of pieces ranging from dismembered torsos to smaller items like this decapitated head. i will post more photos when i get them.

check out the video footage of this prop..

the life model that was used for this build is a lovely fella named Stuart Davies, who actually works at Speke Hall too!

Feliz Dia de Los Muertos!

rachel & baby rosie

a number of my recent posts have centred around my major uni project – the brainchild.

im pleased to say that i’ve just finished it – the culmination of about 5 months work!

these are some of the photos of the exhibit, which were taken by my friend, rachel – the same rachel whose face has been cast in the construction of this artefact

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you can read loads more about it on my other blog:
cerebrum filios – children of the brain 

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building a brainchild

most of you will be familiar with the brainchild project i am working on..

this is a sketch for a friend who made the request, “draw a bisected head, with a foetus for a brain.”

i was so taken by this idea that i used the theme for my major university project, which has involved me physically constructing a decapitated head with a baby inside of the cranium. i am also creating additional digital and printed media to tell the backstory of this curious artefact, as if it were once part of a carnival sideshow attraction!

the drawing request was made by my friend, rachel, who has a cheery and inspirational wordpress blog. it’s called adventures on the brightside and follows her exploits during the year as dictated by a new diary she has. [actually, that could be the plot for a romcom or a horror novel, depending on the personality of the actual diary!] so please, go check it out… [link]

anyway, because the brainchild was her idea, i felt it only fitting that the head should also be hers! so have a nosey at this progress video showing what my creation currently looks like!

you can read about the construction process and the rest of the project at my other blog:
cerebrum filios: children of the brain

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sleeping like a…

this is a detail shot of the foetus i’ve been building…

ain’t she a cutie!

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desktop

i have mentioned that this blog is so quiet because i have been concentrating on my university work.

i will certainly post about the project here when it is more complete, but this phonepic of my desktop should give you a flavour of some of the stuff i’ve been doing!

for anyone interested in seeing what this is all about, i have another blog where i’m detailing the entire project…

cerebrum filios – the children of the brain

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the children of the brain

a while ago i posted an anatomical drawing of a head that had been bisected open. but curiously, rather than having a brain inside – there was a foetus..

as i enter the final year of my degree, i am using this subject matter as a vehicle to investigate a few ideas.

i suspect theology, medicine, and artistic craftsmanship will all come into focus as i explore it in further depth. no doubt the roles of identity, personality, and user profiles will make appearances too as technology continues to overwhelm our physical place in this digital world.

i will record my journey of research and creation on another blog:

cerebrum filios: the children of the brain

 

please have a look from time-to-time. if any of my posts strike a chord, or relate to your own thoughts or ideas, then i would love to hear what you have to say.

thanks,
chris

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skelesaurus

whaddya think of my new moneybox?

amongst the random things i got for my birthday were a paint-your-own stegasaurus moneybox,  and some kids air-drying plasticine [thanks again to party and face respectively!]

as soon as i saw that lil’ dinosaur i knew he was gonna get butchered. taken me a few months to get round to it, but ive eventually got it sorted. this is what i think is best described as a ‘jason freeny on-the-cheap‘.  [mr. freeny does things like this incase you dont know who he is.]

actually this was a very quick project. i spent more time cutting the blighter up [badly], than making his calcium deficient innards. it is certainly not anatomically correct – but then it was always more of an experimentation in freenyness than a musuem candidate. [hmm, that sounds like im making an excuse.] if im honest, technical accuracy has never been something i like encroaching on my work.

and that last admission makes me sound a bit slapdash and lazy – which is not really the case. [that, right there, was a lie too.] it’s more to do with my terrible attention span – if a project isnt finished within a few sittings then it get relegated to the unfinished pile and is never seen again. indeed, i was moaning about that recently [moan].

so, using the silly notion that a person can change and improve themselves, i have been working on a painting which i would have normally ditched ages ago. it still isnt finished, but i have been persisting even when my heart is not in it.

so i will get it done soon.

probably.

[fyi. the painting in question is a zombie pin-up girl!]

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making babies

last night i made a baby!

[foetus – sculpey. 6  july 2011]

sculpey has just become my new favourite thing! i bought 2 blocks a few weeks back, but last night was the first chance id had to use it. i havent sculpted anything for ages, but it felt very natural to be doing it again… [ i must sculpt more].

i knocked together a little foetus, only using abt 1/4 of a 2oz block. then baked it for 15mins. once cooled, it was pretty solid, but still soft enough to carve into with a dull blade. so i can refine/polish the anatomy and surface detail.

i came across sculpey while looking at jason freeny’s work. and tbh, all i know of the material are based on his photographs and sculptural process. i have yet to see if i can rebake it to harden it further. i also dont know if i can add new clay to it, i suspect new layers wont stick unless anchored well. and while it is sturdy, im unsure how robust a tall figure would be – its probable a wireframe base will be required.

i have loads on my plate already, and this is just one more distraction to add to the list of things interfering with the completion of my uni work! lol

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