Courage
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Back in 2014 we follow William from studio to foundry to document the making of sculpture, this was a complex journey from clay to bronze. Each step in this process needed the highly skilled team”. Andrea Hylands
Australian sculptor William Eicholtz completes a major commission for the City of Yarra in Melbourne. The bronze casting techniques used here are similar to those of ancient Greece.
The sculpture, which is called Courage, is inspired by the iconic character of the Cowardly Lion in the story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the lion's contemplation of what it means to possess the courage to be yourself, no matter who you are.
The documentary that follows the making of Courage can be viewed in the Documentaries section of the Art and Culture Channel.
The work, which honours the contribution, culture and diversity of the GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) community, is dedicated to the legacy of Ralph McLean (1957–2010). Australia’s first openly gay Lord Mayor (City of Fitzroy, 1984),
Ralph was a leading advocate for gay rights, social justice and the arts. The bronze sculpture was installed at Whitlam Place next to Fitzroy Town Hall in mid July 2014 and just in time for the 2014 20th International AIDS conference to be held in Melbourne from 20 July that year. Guest speakers will include President Bill Clinton, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and artist and activist Sir Bob Geldof.
The Courage sculpture is created in William’s studio in the inner Melbourne suburb of Windsor. A complex mould is made from the clay sculpture, the sculpture is segmented into mould sections and silicone rubber is applied, which is then supported, by an outer mould. When the mould is complete, and there are many body parts that will be reassembled to make the final sculpture, an 8 mm layer of wax is poured into the mould.
In the Perrin Sculpture Foundry, William then works on the wax copy to remove blemishes and join marks so that the wax copy now resembles the final work. In this case the wax is green.
The wax copy needs further work to prepare it for the bronze pour and this means creating an internal structure that will create channels for the molten bronze to flow evenly into the mould. The wax is then dipped into a slurry of silica and then into stucco to create a shell.
The shell is heated, the wax is melted and leaves a negative space in the shell mould. After further work the bronze is poured into the shell.
After cooling the shell is hammered off. The bronze casting will require further work to finish the surface. The various body parts are assembled to create the final bronze sculpture, which is hollow.
Each step in this process is complex and needs a highly skilled team to complete each stage. It is William’s task to create the original clay sculpture, the scale of the work makes me wonder how William can be so confident, even if it is built on a frame structure, that the larger than life clay figure will not crack and break into pieces.
During this sculpting phase, each evening the clay figure was dampened down and wrapped in cloth, so that the clay would not dry out.
Then, after the clay sculpture had been completed the Perrin Sculpture Foundry team take over the technical processes and William works with them to make any adjustments and minor surface repairs to the sculpture. There is close liaison between the team during the final assembly stage.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope everything goes smoothly. William seems calm, which is a good sign. Next stage the fabrication and installation, a story on this part of the process will follow and we get to meet the fabricators.
We are grateful to Bill Perrin and the foundry team, Warwick Perrin, Nick Perrin and Nicole Byrne.
The sculpture, which is called Courage, is inspired by the iconic character of the Cowardly Lion in the story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the lion's contemplation of what it means to possess the courage to be yourself, no matter who you are.
The documentary that follows the making of Courage can be viewed in the Documentaries section of the Art and Culture Channel.
The work, which honours the contribution, culture and diversity of the GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) community, is dedicated to the legacy of Ralph McLean (1957–2010). Australia’s first openly gay Lord Mayor (City of Fitzroy, 1984),
Ralph was a leading advocate for gay rights, social justice and the arts. The bronze sculpture was installed at Whitlam Place next to Fitzroy Town Hall in mid July 2014 and just in time for the 2014 20th International AIDS conference to be held in Melbourne from 20 July that year. Guest speakers will include President Bill Clinton, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and artist and activist Sir Bob Geldof.
The Courage sculpture is created in William’s studio in the inner Melbourne suburb of Windsor. A complex mould is made from the clay sculpture, the sculpture is segmented into mould sections and silicone rubber is applied, which is then supported, by an outer mould. When the mould is complete, and there are many body parts that will be reassembled to make the final sculpture, an 8 mm layer of wax is poured into the mould.
In the Perrin Sculpture Foundry, William then works on the wax copy to remove blemishes and join marks so that the wax copy now resembles the final work. In this case the wax is green.
The wax copy needs further work to prepare it for the bronze pour and this means creating an internal structure that will create channels for the molten bronze to flow evenly into the mould. The wax is then dipped into a slurry of silica and then into stucco to create a shell.
The shell is heated, the wax is melted and leaves a negative space in the shell mould. After further work the bronze is poured into the shell.
After cooling the shell is hammered off. The bronze casting will require further work to finish the surface. The various body parts are assembled to create the final bronze sculpture, which is hollow.
Each step in this process is complex and needs a highly skilled team to complete each stage. It is William’s task to create the original clay sculpture, the scale of the work makes me wonder how William can be so confident, even if it is built on a frame structure, that the larger than life clay figure will not crack and break into pieces.
During this sculpting phase, each evening the clay figure was dampened down and wrapped in cloth, so that the clay would not dry out.
Then, after the clay sculpture had been completed the Perrin Sculpture Foundry team take over the technical processes and William works with them to make any adjustments and minor surface repairs to the sculpture. There is close liaison between the team during the final assembly stage.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope everything goes smoothly. William seems calm, which is a good sign. Next stage the fabrication and installation, a story on this part of the process will follow and we get to meet the fabricators.
We are grateful to Bill Perrin and the foundry team, Warwick Perrin, Nick Perrin and Nicole Byrne.
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