I need a favour.
I am currently spending Monday to Thursday every week embracing the joy of the foundry at Chelsea College of Art. I am leaving every day with clay and wax under my finger nails, plaster dust everywhere, and bronze fillings in my hair.
Part of what I am working on are the bronzes for Forged: Somewhere between… As you may know Forged pairs photographs with bronze casts of found natural objects, each contained within a clamshell portfolio box. Forged is a memorial, a warning, and a sign of hope. Each box is a monument we do not want to need. The photographs show where these objects should be found, and, with the help of rewilding, where we could continue to encounter them. Forged will eventually be exhibited with a sound installation of recordings gathered by conservationists across the UK. I believe Forged.… will highlight the need for conservation by emphasising the fragility of our environment. By the completion of the Fellowship, I hope to have sourced and cast over a hundred bronze works.
This is where you come in. I need help sourcing specimens native to the UK, anything that can be cast into bronze. This could include anything from seeds and shells, to corals, to bones and skulls. I am hoping to gather together as many samples as possible, sourced from across the country and covering as wide a range of our native flora and fauna as possible.
Do you have anything sitting at home? Something on your mantle piece or nestled on your shelves?
If you do, and are willing to share it with me, please email rosie@rosiesherwood.com
All items will be returned, unharmed.
