The Merchandise Series: Sculptures
Inspiration for this series is drawn from iconic movies from the past century. The compositions connect to major themes of a film through its plot and/or specific character relationships. These tangibles, & others, are broken down into repeating forms, colours, textures, & volumes that express film through different mediums.
‘Bite’ is a paper sculpture assembled from 69,898 hand cut triangles.
256 sheets of acid free paper were processed into triangles using a guillotine, Xacto blade & steel rule. In between cutting, the triangles were bonded into stacks using 600 metres of acid free double sided permanent tape.
There are 1,239 red & blue triangle paper stacks in this design. The shortest stack is a single red triangle with a blue one on top. The maximum stack is made up of 90 layers. (10mm is achieved per 18 layers)
This sculpture represents a piece of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 summer blockbuster JAWS. The varying depths of the triangle stacks makes reference to a shark thrashing its victim about or taking a bite. This is the moment before the blood mixes with the surface of the water. The triangles are an abstraction of the sharks fin & teeth.
The main body of the work projects 30mm off from the wall when hung. This is in reference to the great whites retractable teeth. The white triangles tell us that the shark surrounds its victims.
The three keyholes are the only break in the design. The concealed 30mm thick wall fixture is constructed from timber & metal. The core of the work comprises of laminated metal, foamboard & cardboard held together with an array of M4 bolts & tape.
The sculpture took 1,000 hours to complete over a span of 18 months. This is the by-product from the process. When the sculpture is on display the waste is placed on the floor beneath the work to reference the spilled guts of the shark when hung at the dock.