RETURN TO OLDER WORKS
CAST FROM NATURE, 2011
Details
Edition of two. Two plaster cast figures, one inverted. Two polished steel stands, plaster cloth.
Installation details variable.
Photography: Ruth Clark
Video Documentary: click here (opens in new window)
Links
DESCRIPTION
Cast From Nature was a live casting project enabled by a production residency at Glasgow Sculpture Studios. It took as its starting point the striking fibreglass sculpture From Nature (credited to John Goodsir F.R.C.S Edinburgh), part of the permanent collection of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. Intrigued by this anonymous, partially flayed body, Borland set about looking for the original and further information about the subject. A badly damaged plaster version of the same figure was located in the basement of Edinburgh’s Medical School and arrangements were made to borrow the piece. Joined by expert plaster-workers, Borland set up a public space at Glasgow Sculpture Studios to mould and recast a restored version of the original, accompanied by a second, inverted cast. The works were exhibited briefly at the end of the residency at Glasgow Sculpture Studios and went on to be exhibited at Camden Arts Centre as a stand-alone work.
research/process
In order to reveal the process of the mould making and casting, a ‘live’ situation was set up in both GSS galleries in a restorative act of repair. Seated on the a specially constructed arena, the audience was able to view on two video screens a live feed of the gradual production of the mould, which eventually encased the subject’s entire body. Taking place over a number of months, the work emphasised the performative nature of the anatomy theatre, as well as the more contemporary hands-off nature of surgical observation rooms and remote learning in current medical education. The seating arena, designed to resemble a tiered lecture theatre, was further activated by a weekly programme of related talks and events.
Associated WORK: NoBodies; Cast From Nature, 2011
Details
12 minute 30 second loop, HD Video.
Camera & Editing: Dave Dunbar
Description
Nobodies; Cast From Nature captures the timeframe following the pulling of the figure from the mold. Having been immediately placed inside a glass display case, the figure is quickly obscured by moisture evaporating from the warm plaster. The camera lingers on the rivulets of moisture, which slowly clear to reveal the details of the figure.
(Made possible by The R.S.A. Morton Award for lens based media, 2010)