Polystyrene Plant Pot - Gaia 3017

Original head + Concept Sketch

I decided to go full steam ahead with the idea of making one of my mannequin heads into a plant pot.

This head was originally meant to be the one I used as a plant pot, but since I came across its ability to conduct light, I decided I couldn't!

So instead I'm using this one. 

I followed the same steps using the hot wire tool to hollow out the head.

Unfortunately, this feminine head was much smaller and much more delicate than the male head, meaning I accidentally punctured a hole in the back of her neck which I fixed with duct tape and clay.

Since I was planning on planting a living, breathing plant inside the head, I placed a plastic bag inside the head to line it and make it waterproof. I pierced a hole in the bottom of the bag and polystyrene to let it drain of water and secured everything with hot glue.

I wanted to spraypaint the whole head in order to make it waterproof, and to make the duct tape and hot glue blend in.

I had initially thought white spraypaint, but I ran out of that. So I used black.

The moment I sprayed it, the polystyrene began to warp and react to the paint, as if it was dissolving. I was horrified!

There was nothing I could do to save it apart from wait for it to dry.

Once she was dry, I thought about throwing her in the bin and starting again. The polystyrene had reacted to the black spraypaint, making it become horribly porous. It looked like her face had been decaying for years. She was barely recognisable and I was very upset!

Despite this, I pressed on.

I planted my plant into her head. The soil and plant combined were much heavier than I anticipated, and I was worried that the base of the head would crumble under the weight. Luckily it didn't. But I had to be sure to balance it right.

The plant is beautiful. I specifically chose an unusually coloured plant to create contrast and interest. The leaves are naturally pink! Despite this, the outcome was very underwhelming and I was a bit upset!

To combat this, I experimented with my wigs again.

I cut a slit down the back of the wig to allow the plant to "grow" through it. This gave the piece much more character immediately, and all of a sudden, I felt great affection towards her. As if the wig brought her to life.

I toyed with the idea of how to display her.

I placed her on the corner of a square podium, facing away from the entrance of the room so that her face is concealed, and the hair flows down the side of the box. This gives an air of enigma, as the viewer cannot see her face at first glance.

The moment I stepped back from her, I immediately felt sorry for her. This may be due to my own attachment to the mannequin head, and the guilt that I carry for having destroyed her face with the spray paint, but I feel that any viewer could see her as pitiable. She looks very small alone in a big room, and very vulnerable.
Looking at this sculpture makes me feel very sad.

I enjoy the way that the hair is rather elegant and beautiful (albeit a mess), and hides the majority of the woman's ugly face. It is as if she is hiding from the viewer. And yet, despite the fact that she is ugly and seems to think so, something beautiful is growing from her head.

This sculpture could be seen to be a metaphor for Mother Nature/Gaia and how she has decayed over time. There is no vivid colour, whereas traditionally, representations of Gaia are incredibly colourful and tropical. Instead of using brightness, flowers, foliage and colours, (the ideal, romantic representations of nature) this version of Gaia is black and grey. This could suggest the ill health of our Earth, and personify the pollution we have brought to it. Her long grey hair could personify smog/smoke, whereas the black decay on her face could represent an oil spill and the hardships that we have brought to the face (literal face) of our Earth.

Despite all this, the plant continues to grow from her head, which is a credit to how hard she is working to sustain us.
(A metaphor, and a wake up call to alert us as humans of how hard the Earth is working to sustain us, when all we do is take from it and destroy it.)

It could also be an interesting idea that perhaps this sculpture is a personification of Earth after humans have left it, battered, bruised and used beyond belief, and only now can nature begin to grow from it again and reclaim it.

The outline of the mannequin's small nose and plump lips are still visible. They suggest youth, innocence and underlying beauty, despite the poor state of her skin.

I also experimented with the idea of turning her away from the viewer completely, to face the wall. As if she was ashamed.

The viewer would have to travel around the sculpture in order to see her face. They may expect the face to be beautiful, as such a beautiful plant is growing from the head. They may then be shocked to see the state of her face, being porous and black.

I am interested in this idea of facing her away from my viewers, perhaps in the furthest corner of the room, but allowing room for them to travel around it. I enjoy the idea of making people move to see my art, making viewing it into an experience for multiple senses, processes and emotions (1, confusion, 2, intrigue, 3 surprise, 4 pity, 5 guilt)

I'm not sure what I would name this piece, but I know that it would have to be meaningful and suggestive towards the theme.

It's commonly discussed that humans only have a "set number" of years left until environmental disaster strikes.

Stephen Hawking says we have less than 1000 years left on Earth.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/13/stephen-hawking-humans-have-less-than-1000-years-left-on-earth-3614602/

Maybe it would be fitting, in this case, to call this sculpture:

"Gaia 3017"