TOOLS- METAL CASTING PROCESS
During Advanced Media Pathway, a module I completed last year, I began to design and create my own tools made from lead-free pewter that were used in the creation of Impasse. At the time I realized that I had become dissatisfied with conventional tools (such as hammers) as through spatial experience it became obvious the method used to break down the wall. In order to generate more ambiguous marks these tools became an important development within my practice.
Through a research process, I’ve more recently been able to explore ways in which I could advance this area of my work. A hand tool is an implement for performing manual operations. With this in mind, I am not restricted by action and there are further possibilities of creating different tools for different uses and processes within my interventions.
When visiting the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford I began to investigate how tools have been made and used since the Stone Age. The unconventional forms of these implements are fascinating and their archaeological hand-made quality resonates with my own work. Likewise, Dead Ringers, a 1988 psychological drama film directed by David Cronenberg presents a story of twin gynaecologists. One of the characters seeks out metal artist Anders Wolleck and commissions a set of strange gynaecological instruments. Although the concerns within the film are irrelevant to my work, it is these bizarre ambiguous metal objects that present similarities to my tools.
Over the past two weeks I have been putting my research to use, immersing myself in the process of metal casting to create five tools that will be used in the making process of my degree show work. Anyone who has followed this process before will understand that it takes a long time to complete. However, from making the initial tool forms from clay to pouring the silicone mix, this process really gave me a moment to reflect. I began to think of the pewter material and how as a relatively soft metal it may mark and record its use over time.
The set of tools will be finished tomorrow, as all I have left to do is pour the metal into the moulds. An image of the final results will follow in my next post.
