ISTANBUL · LUXURY MALL · FIBRE CAST, BRONZE-PARTICLE GEL COAT · 10 FIGURES
Acting Men was designed at the request of the architects of a luxury mall and residence project in Istanbul, for the garden corridor running between the Cartier, Hermès, Gucci and Ferragamo stores. One of three works we produced for the project, the work consists of ten different figures.
The figures do not stand on the ground; they are mounted on metal rods about three metres above it. That decision shaped the relationship between the sculpture and the people walking through the corridor from the outset: the figures never block the path, and they lift the gaze up over the garden and the façades. Each reads like an actor on stage with a stance of its own; together, the ten figures stage a quiet play along the length of the corridor.
The project sits close to the tradition of raising the human figure in public space: in the line that runs from monumental figures on columns to Stephan Balkenhol’s anonymous people on tall plinths, the figure is not a hero but someone taken from everyday life.
The making
The process began with sketches; the figures were modelled on the computer and the connection details to the rods were drawn separately. Each figure, about 70 cm tall, was then modelled in clay in the workshop. Once all ten clay figures were complete, moulds were taken.
The casts were made in fibre. A gel coat mixed with bronze particles was applied to the mould first; this outermost layer gives the figures their cold-cast bronze appearance. A standard gel coat and the fibre layers followed. The surfaces of the casts were finished with patina.
Welded steel armatures and supporting rods were prepared for figures that would stand outdoors for years. On site, each figure was fixed to its own rod and set in place along the garden corridor.
From the workshop
