Page History

Charlie Hume

Art

Plaster bandage & mixed media

Zachary Edge 

Terminal Terror through the microscope 

Stoneware clay, polymer clay, air-dry clay, fossilised shark teeth, armature wire, foil, chip wood, gesso, acrylic paint, varnish, plaster 

‘Terminal Terror through the microscope’, my unit 4 artwork, is my response to the ubiquitous nature of disease (particularly cancer) and how it has affected humanity across all of history. Cancer, and its mutated cells, are generally invisible to us despite the immense impact they can have on our lives. This artwork challenges that hidden nature by upscaling an artistic take on a cancerous creature into a large-scale piece; as though we are seeing it through a microscope.
I am also commenting on the way in which cancer cells attack their own body of origin through the image of the ouroboros – a snake that eats its own tail – which is symbol that has been present in many cultures throughout the scope of time. 
I do not like to look at my work for long, nor do I think it is aesthetically appealing (and I don’t expect many people think of it as ‘nice’). It is instead rather gruesome and aggressive, yet that is how the reality of disease can be. A work that highlighted the hope and high points of life would not be an honest depiction of the experiences many people have with this topic. 

Zachary Edge 

Terminal Terror through the microscope 

Stoneware clay, polymer clay, air-dry clay, fossilised shark teeth, armature wire, foil, chip wood, gesso, acrylic paint, varnish, plaster 

My final artwork addresses themes from my topic of hurt people hurt people. I aimed to explore the consequences of this toxic cycle that people often become trapped in, hence the use of the arms reaching to someone or something new. I incorporated a combination of fresh, dried and pressed flowers with stained plaster to hopefully portray how poisoning hurt and pain can be. I wanted the flowers to embody the delicacy and fragility of life, whilst at the same time contributing colour and positive energy. By placing them in the cavity of the plaster arms I hoped to demonstrate that people are innately moral and good but it is their experiences and trauma that can create scars that are often hard to ooverlook. It is only when you look beneath someone’s skin, beneath their hurt exterior that we can find their flowers. The spreading of the dark paint across the pure white plaster is representative of both the destructive and contagious impact of pain, however, I tried to avoid presenting a defeatist and negative perspective to this issue but rather the beauty that often lies beneath someone’s rough and tough exterior.

‘Terminal Terror through the microscope’, my unit 4 artwork, is my response to the ubiquitous nature of disease (particularly cancer) and how it has affected humanity across all of history. Cancer, and its mutated cells, are generally invisible to us despite the immense impact they can have on our lives. This artwork challenges that hidden nature by upscaling an artistic take on a cancerous creature into a large-scale piece; as though we are seeing it through a microscope.
I am also commenting on the way in which cancer cells attack their own body of origin through the image of the ouroboros – a snake that eats its own tail – which is symbol that has been present in many cultures throughout the scope of time. 
I do not like to look at my work for long, nor do I think it is aesthetically appealing (and I don’t expect many people think of it as ‘nice’). It is instead rather gruesome and aggressive, yet that is how the reality of disease can be. A work that highlighted the hope and high points of life would not be an honest depiction of the experiences many people have with this topic.