Shell: What Lies Below. October ’17.

While working on my Pilbara turtle molds (for The Vast Project), I started making  little underwater scenes in wax: shells, coral, turtles, divers… miscellaneous industrial remnants.

The first finished piece from this series is Shell: What Lies Below, bronze with metallic paint highlights, 130mmH x 150 x 160mm.

The components were made from wax and cast separately, then welded together in the foundry. Pictures show the wax bits assembled prior to casting, then as bronze components, then welded and patinated, including a view from underneath.

At first it looks like a colourful idyllic underwater scene, but when you look closely you see broken bits of machinery, discarded oil or fuel barrels, torpedoes, pointing to something more sinister. The beautiful plume shape could be escaping air, or oil, or a bizarre plant form…and is the little diver trying to save or catch the turtles?