The idea of the mask comes from the Breathing Station - an installation in a future Distopian world where the air you breathe is no longer free. The idea presupposes that the CO2 content in the air has reached levels that will not sustain human life. It is also an idea of future artifact - so that the setting is the future and this is an object of the past with a distopian feel to it. I managed to obtain a couple of fireman's masks via a friend of a friend. They are identical to those worn by riot police in Europe - the difference being the use of a filter versus an air tank. It is an intriguing object.
I eventually decide to try casting in bronze - by now it is getting down to the last 4 weeks before hand-in.
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| The original mask set up for latex casting |
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| Good layer of latex |
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| Drying |
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| Two piece plaster cast over latex to hold shape |
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| Actually the third attempt to get a wax positive - this time painting on the wax at low temp, some issue with defects doing it this way as against pouring |
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| The first casting - water in the wax - wax floats on water... |
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| The second casting - multiple poured to form the complex shape - lost detail while working |
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| The third attempt, painted on wax, handled carefully - left in latex as edges repaired, all sprued up and reading for investment coatings.Found it was very important to weld the was components really well otherwise they just fall apart at the worst possible time. |
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First coat of investment, looking good. Note that the added wax funnel acts as a base. |
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| Set up ready to steam the wax out of the dried shell of 5 coats of investment - wall paper steamer |
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| By now I have learnt the value in wax welding - note loss of front sprue. The coating is quite a physical process so strong sprue structure is important |
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| Unfortunately the steaming expands the wax cracking the shell - well, it shrinks when it cools so that makes sense - stopped before wrecking the shell. Added further layers of investment plus fibreglass matting |
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| This time I'm going to blast it with a massive propane torch, heating the wax from the outside and allowing it to melt and flood out before it can apply pressure to the shell |
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| Heating the fired ceramic shell - it has been fired in a kiln |
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| Graeme and Greg in the foundry, pouring molten bronze into my casting |
