Tam Joseph

RUST THEMES I have had a fascination for texture has held for me as long as I can remember. Every texture has meaning, whether it is the rough bark of trees, cracked paving stones, old brick walls, fabric, the fish scales or rusting metal. The latter not only for its tactile feel but also for the warm reds and ochre’s which trigger distant memories from my early childhood in Dominica, my country of birth. Every work that I undertake propels me through a set of unique experiences that somehow provides signposts guiding me to other areas of study, steering my work into exciting and new areas of research and practice. The construction of the paper mache sculptures is straightforward but time consuming. I have acquired knowledge of the safe use of arc welding equipment and working with volatile chemicals to obtain patinas of rust. At the core of the construction is an armature of 5mm steel, which is covered in chicken wire, newsprint and thick layers of paper marche, this in turn is saturated with many fine layers of iron filings, while the paper mache is still wet. I use a garden spray into which I pour various chemical elements which transform the iron fillings into yellow, bluish red, hues of rust.