Constructive deconstruction

For those that followed my blog about the making of my cast glass brain you will recall that I had carried out flamework to create veins and synapses.   The intention had been to incorporate these within the rear void of the cast piece.  However, as the piece progressed a decided that less can be more and that the piece could be too fussy if they were included.  I then considered the option of creating a deconstructed piece to compliment the other. Back to the sketchbook...

I looked at different design ideas and materials; was the use of the flameworked glass synapse the best way to go, was it too obvious?  I pondered what it was that I was wanting to portray and realised that a deconstructed piece need not only be about the materials but also the design journey, this piece was to be very cerebral.

I wanted to capture the idea of thought processes, the electrical distribution of human data therefore I experimented with electrical wire.  At first I thought domestic appliance cable would be ideal as it is shrouded by coloured plastic that reflected my chosen colours of glass, namely blue, yellow, green and brown.  I tried sculpted on this theme.

 Okay, so the material works and it can, with some work, be sculpted to represent the brain and its workings however I wasn't happy that this was what I was trying to portray.  Aesthetically it wasn't pleasing, it was too contrived, it wasn't fine enough to capture the delicacy of the mind - it was all too dressed up.  It needed deconstructed more.

I stared to remove the plastic coated to reveal the copper wires beneath.  The cable is made up of multiple strands of fine copper threads (30 in each colour).   I started to select differing numbers of threads and twisted them together, branching and thinning out as I went, almost tree like.  I really loved the sculptural possibilities this allowed.

I wanted this piece to capture my journey, like a memory map, the essence of what has made me me. I reflected on a piece we made at the start of college and how that echoed aspects of what I was seeking to do so I revisited that work.  This resulted in me selected a number of images that reflected my personal and artistic development.   I worked with them to establish a system of setting them out that added to the overall message and how that would work with the base for the piece.

I liked the principle of laying out a route journey and I extended this into the foundations of my stem.  By overlaying the wires onto a series of life story telling pictures I could set out my journey and the foundations, the roots of me.

I'll take you through the design and making of the base in my next instalment.