(The Rats), 2023
The story of Philip, who found his friend Harold in quite a peculiar predicament, you know, with his head exploded and all.
These rats were originally a project in collaboration with Tim Brandt back in 2022. We wanted to create a swarm of rats running together through a space. Using rigged 3d-models, we created around 20 unique poses for each rat, all in different cycles of motion. We then sliced each model and began the long process of 3d printing the swarm, with the exception of the tails, which we planned to hand sculpt.
As our other projects became a larger priority, we left the flock of 3d printed rats on the backburner until 2023.
After a year of stewing over the cardboard box of printed rats, I decided to scale down the project and try my hand at creating a smaller story between two of them. For the finish on Harold and Philip, I first sculpted their tails and filled in large imperfections using epoxy putty. At the same time I drilled out the modeled eyes, and embedded steel ball bearings in their place, sculpting back in the eye lid detail around them.
Their bodies were then coated in various craft sands, glitter and pool salt. The tails were finished with a model automotive paint and gloss.
For Harold, I wanted to create unusual gore, something that would invite the viewer to question the materiality. I used a heat gun to melt the seam down the middle of the model, prying apart the snout into a cartoonish impact. Using jewelry wire, I created the interior flesh, which was then coated in silicone caulking to give it a more chaotic and messy appearance. It was then treated in a similar way to the tails, however adding glitter and pigment powders as well.