Wire person second experiment

For this experiment I learnt from my previous mistakes and printed some photos of peoples faces at different angles and also had a mirror at hand, in the hope that this would enable me to create a more accurate face.


 I once again started by creating a wire model, ensuring the head and shoulders were slightly smaller than needed to allow me to layer the clay on.

 I then concentrated on the facial features, adding a little more detail than before to show increased emotion. This time I chose to experiment with the mouth in particular, shaping it into a different position that I felt could portray more emotion.
I also focused on getting the facial features proportionate and accurate from a range of angles, which is where the mirror was very useful as I could explore these angles on my own face.

Due to the sufficated look being successful in my previous experiment I decided to keep this aspect the same, and so once again coated the model in PVA glue.
At this stage I encountered a slight problem. As the clay began to dry it started to crack slightly, and so I thickly applied the glue hoping this would keep it all together.

 

Once I had covered the model with the bin bag I hoped that this would also hold the clay together once it dries out. I feel this turned out to be a positive problem, as it now represents how these victims are having to put on a front and hold themselves together inside, and on a more literal level, they are having to rely on materials such as bin bags to hold their lives together. 

I feel this experiment was a lot more successful as it portrays more emotion through its increased accuracy, and now appears a lot more life like. I don't think this removes any of the mystery compared to the previous experiment, and maybe even illustrates a heightened sense of mystery due to the changed expression. I like how the opened mouth makes viewers question what is going on- is the figure screaming? Maybe for help, or maybe through fear? Are they gasping? In shock or maybe for air? The decision will be down to the viewer and their perspective. The piece is whatever they want it to be, which makes it a lot more personal to them and creates a connection between the viewer and the work. This is the effect that I aimed to achieve, which was inspired by Antony Gormley's Another Place, where his work takes on a different appearance and meaning to each individual.

If I were to do this experiment again I wouldn't have placed the clay straight onto the wire, and I would have allowed it to dry before covering it to explore what would happen. With more time, I would have collected first hand photos of people with my desired expression on their face, and then spent more time striving to achieving this expression (using the photos). I also would have been more careful with the scale of the head as I feel it has turned out slightly too big on some parts.