With the success of the earlier experiment with cardboard and the obvious associations of cardboard with homelessness, I began to think of other materials I could use that could be linked with my subject matter. The clear answer was the very stuff homes and buildings are made of. Of the many construction materials available I was called back to the cement of the Vhils portraits. The only problem was how to use it? The answer was flexible tile cement for wood. Virtually indistinguishable from the sand and cement used for render and mortar and perfect for spreading on sheet timber such as mdf.
Attached are two images of the cementing process.
Experimenting with texture.
Below these images are three mdf boards coated in cement. I had applied the cement differently to each board.
The first image shows a very rough and textured surface, similar to the kind of surfaces Vhils uses when working directly onto brick walls.
The second image shows a very smooth surface for perhaps a more delicate and defined portrait.
Finally the third image shows a ‘somewhere in between’ stage to see which level of texture gives the best effect.
