‘Pedigree’ vibrated – although quivered is a better word, since it’s a dog.
The work was based on a French Bulldog. I worry about misshapen dogs – especially brachycephalic breeds (no snout). They look like unwilling participants in a dog fancy-dress competition. They can’t know that they have no nose, short legs, or orange hair simply because someone bred them that way.
Yet they never lose their dogness. Even the fanciest of breeds still has a dog soul – a leg cocking, misbehaving, bottom smelling DOG underneath.
An igloo made from Themroc 100mm insulation board. The heated floor in the gallery meant that this was cosy inside – for those who could get through the door (small children).
Calculating the 3 dimensions of each block is not so straightforward. The traditional snow blocks can be rough cut and then the excess scraped away for a snug fit. Also, the inside layer of a snow igloo melts and then forms ice to hold the structure together. Greg made the calculations and cut the blocks – hence the title of the piece.
To keep the clay form intact and durable without firing it, I covered this figure in resin and fine fibre glass. Firing makes the ceramic solid and consistent the whole way through. This is a sort of death though permanence. By adding an exoskeleton, the innards stay fragile while the outside does the job of keeping the object together.
The object in the background is a cast of a cast of a horse.
