Fascinator

Sculpture

The black thread contrasts against the white wall, highlighting both the form and the space in and around the structure and focussing attention on the geometric patterns and the parabolic curves.

Display

After researching haute couture headpieces, I have thought about showing it on a plinth with photographs behind it to show the piece in context.  Someone with blonde hair would be best to model the fascinator as this would not dull the transparent colours of the perspex.  I would have them wearing a plain dark blue top that matches the colour of the central pyramid to accent this key bit of detail.

Location

I have selected the location of where to exhibit my sculpture very carefully.  I needed to attach my sculpture to the ceiling in order to obtain the required amount of tension in the pipes to maintain its circular form.  I chose an exhibition space with a high ceiling and overhead beams and built the sculpture to fit the space, enabling fishing line to be tied around the beams to help support it.

Mock Up

My Design

After exploring various colours and finishes in perspex, I felt the angular fashion of the flower petals were better suited to a cooler colour scheme.  The mixture of transparent and frosted finishes also suggested an icy feel.

To maintain its strong resemblance to a flower I’ve experimented with making anthers, to sit within the central pyramid.

Sculpture you can move through

I am going to make the rings of my sculpture out of white plastic pipe and screw in a series of hooks at 2cm intervals to attach the thread.  I am going to fashion wooden pegs to connect the pipes together that follow the angle of the curve.

When I did bent the pipes into a circle the curve of the wooden pegs caused a gap to be created between the pieces of pipe so I had to recreate the pegs out of metal in order for the join to be streamline.  This resulted in a complicated process of sandblasting, grinding, sanding, lubricating, rapid heating and cooling and pressure.  To fix the pipes onto the base I created metal pegs which I then flattened and angled to the correct degree of the curve and then bolted to the base boards.

To allow the focus of the sculpture to be on the design of the threads rather than the architectural structure, I have painted the form white so that it blends in with the white walls of its surrounding.

Hinge Design

When I looked into the construction of the embellishment of the ring and making the hinges for the pyramids out of acrylic, it led to some technical problems, due to the small-scale, which caused the piece to be redesigned into a bracelet and then into a fascinator to combat this.

I had to change the design of the hinges in order to be able to construct it.

I plan to use 5mm thick acrylic so that I have enough thickness to drill into the side of it, to form the holes for the pegs. Each piece of the fascinator is going to be laser cut so that the tabs for my hinges fit together exactly.

Idea