Wearable Sculpture

Figure 1 shows a sculptural casting, cast in gilding-metal, attached to a beaded chain. The sculpture is comprised of a succulent and vertebra found on the beach.

Figure 1-Bowes, K.,(2021). Wearable sculpture.

 

Figure 2-Bowes, K.,(2021). Close up of the sculpture.

In 2020 I cast a vertebra I found on a beach and made a mould of. I paired the vertebra with a casting of a succulent cast from a live plant; similarly to how Nic Bladen casts using living plants. The castings were done separately but a serendipity photo of the two castings together ignited the idea of making the castings into a sculpture. 

I used my Artflow app to design how I could use beads to make the sculpture wearable. Youtube became a useful tool to learn new types of beading but I settled on using a double helix beading design similar to DNA emphasising something that is living and growing.

Above is the finished piece of the sculpture attached to the beads before the contrast can form between the vertebra which is sealed with a clear lacquer and the succulent which isn't sealed.