Stove (For Plastic) used in Crying Car
Wax cast of an engine part, structural support with burlap, candles
Crying Car was an experiential piece of art which aimed to monumentalize the transposition from one location to another by connecting ancient practices of organ removal to automobile repair. The piece references the ancient ideology that the heart was entirely responsible for our thoughts and actions (the soul). I was more interested in the historic removal and ritual surrounding the heart, and wanted to apply the same concept to the “heart” of a car (the engine), preserving its essence in a solid block of plastic.
I found that the most effective way to boil the plastic was to use the heat of a candle. Given the nature of the materials I worked with, the middle of the woods in freezing temperatures provided an environment similar to the conditions the mold and cast would have to be in to cure properly.