I’ve just completed work on the latest edition of one of my bronze relic sculptures from my ongoing Sebastian series and it’s now on view at Childs Gallery, Boston. Sebastian (relic) no.1, 2016-2019, cast bronze with verdigris (urine) patina, forms part of Out-Spoken: Fifty Years of Pride which runs through August 18th.
Referencing both Warhol and Picasso, the bronze head was buried for 6 months in the garden of Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles and visitors were asked to urinate on the head. The uric acid within the urine reacts with the copper in the bronze prematurely ageing it and turning it a blue-green. The work was commissioned for a private collection and it’s rumoured that the Romans would utilise this same method, albeit with slave boys, to achieve a look that was akin to their beloved Greek bronzes. Thank you to all those involved for contributing and helping to make this work happen.
