Nostalgia 2 - The suburbs

 

Rain in the suburbs 2005- 2010 -Concrete, plaster, resin, and steel.

Irish Concrete Sculpture Award 2011 

When I was very young I remember spending a lot of time at home bored while my brothers and sisters were at school. I was quite sickly and sensitive as a kid and I had problems with asthma, I remember the cold touch of the doctors stethoscope on my chest. The miserable days looking out at the rain in the suburbs but enjoying the comfort of home and the smell of warm detergent and steam as my mother ironed the clothes while watching T.V

This sculpture was an endeavour. I began mapping it out from my bedroom in 356 SCR, first of all drawing it out full size on paper. Over time I improved the piece a little and constructed a support for the back that makes it easier to mount. This was for the SWAB art fair in Barcelona in 2013. I made vina moulds and cast every plaster and concrete cast individually. The incomplete casts were made by filling the negative part with clay and then covering the clay part in vaseline. 

Each plaster cast was sanded smooth, painted in an undercoat and finally finished in a domestic paint gloss. 

They all  hang individually so as to lighten the overall look of the work. The rain drops were sculpted in clay then cast in plaster, sanded and carved a little more and then  vina moulds were made. I then made cast of the drops in clear resin which were then sanded starting at 120 grain up to 1500 to get a brilliant clear finish. Each resin drop is suspended from the back support using specifically made stainless steel braces. 

I wanted to convey the contrast between the bare concrete and a clean crisp gloss finish. The top part of the walls in peoples gardens would sometimes be painted usually in a gloss finish to protect against the harsh winter rain and wind. A elegant attempt to portray the cosiness of inside on the outside.