GRANITE + STEEL
GRANITE + STEEL is a work deeply rooted in the natural makeup of my home, Squamish, BC. Growing up beneath the Stawamus Chief (Siyam Smanit) inspired the use of a large granite pillar. This pillar is held by a plaster mould of my hands, engaging in themes of fragility, balance, and the interconnectivity of natural + artificial.
Challenge
This work was created during the same sculpture exploration as CEDAR + IRON. The challenge was posed to create a mould of your hands with not only a broad concept in mind but only then were we tasked with deriving a deeper meaning and creating a sculpture with it.
FABRICATION
To size the granite into a workable size, I utilized a stone excavation technique known as pre-splitting: drilling closely along a desired contour to split a large rock with a small drill bit.This technique resulted in distinct scarring on the top of the stone, which communicates further the relationship granite has to industry in this region.I chose to further this effect by stressing the sides of the stone as it reached the top, where the drilling channels lay exposed.
Iron. With the granite pillar weighing more than 90kgs (200 lbs), the fabrication of the base was of the utmost importance. If it were to bend or fail, it would be a safety risk for anyone nearby. I employed a colleague, Riaan Vandenberg, to fabricate a simple steel base of my design that would allow a metal rod to pass through the plaster hands and into the granite pillar, giving the illusion that the hands alone were holding the weight of the stone.
