Prometheus

Prometheus – Polyphant 2014 (SOLD)

This was my first attempt at carving a human face. Such a challenge but such a satisfaction to have it finished! To carve a face is like to go to the carving gym: you learn so much and you exercise your brain at seriously challenging 3D mind reconstruction. I didn’t have a particular model in mind for this one but I definitely took inspiration from greek and roman pieces. A nose here, an eye there, the lips from a museum, the hair from another. What came out was a collage of different periods and styles. I named it after Prometheus. Prometheus in greek mythology was a titan that stole the secret of fire from the gods and give it to the humans. The first heretic, the first antiestablishment anarchist, the first hero.

I carved it on polyphant, an incredibly versatile type of stone found only in UK. This when carved comes naturally with a light grey colour but when wet it becomes shiny black. So I played with this bichromatic quality of the stone and oiled the face but not the hair. To do so you need to “cook” the stone with hot water to let all the pores open up, then you apply the oil that penetrates the stone and when cold get stuck in. See below the various phases of “cooking” and oiling. The final job is mounted on an oak base.