Bones and Concrete

• 2019-2021 • California
• Design • Fabrication • Materials Study

In 2019 I bought some sheep skins from a shepherd friend in Winters CA, and we got to talking about the bones. We worked out a deal in trade and I dug up some of his shallow farm graveyards and spent the winter processing bones for The Crypt project. The dirty, smelly work is humbling and takes weeks or months in each of the various stages (scrubbing, maceration, detergent degreasing, hydrogen peroxide). There is no substitute for time.

I have been living in cities for too long and realize I am woefully unfamiliar with the natural processes that skeletons go through as they are transformed by time in the natural world. Working with bones is as real as it gets, and I feel reverence for these creatures even as I defile their graves and craft their remains into esoteric aesthetic forms.

In an improvisational taxidermy style of sorts, I reconstruct the skeletons (taking some creative liberties along the way) using welded steel and found metal scrap. Some of the resulting “Puppies” have diffused LED light strips incorporated into them.

Since working on The Crypt I have been experimenting with concrete casting. I like the permanence and commitment that comes with curing cement. I also appreciate the aesthetic simplicity of this industrial material usually valued for its function, price and ubiquity.