Hi Leonor!
I love your work from the Fragments series and after talking with you more about your materials and process, I realized that we have some commonalities in our work here..
This image of yours below particularly signaled parallels in both form and materials, reminding me of the undulating forms I engaged when creating a fiberglass speaker enclosure for my Piragua cart-bicycle sculpture. Although the final objects are quite different, they share similar sculptural paths…
From the Fragments series - Leonor Hipólito, 2008
Here are some in-process images of the Piragua cart-bicycle I mentioned. The title of the project is Pimp my Piragua – a mobile public art project that commemorates the innovations of Latino street vendors, transforming a traditional pushcart for selling shaved ice (Piraguas) into a hyper-modified pushcart-tricycle with a hi-fi sound and video system.
The cart started with a wood and mdf frame:
wood, mdf frame for pushcart, ML 2008
Next, the wood frame is stretched over with polyester fleece…
fleece-covered speaker enclosure, ML 2008
The fleece is then covered with resin to harden the structure, and reinforced with fiberglass…
fiberglass reinforced structure, ML 2008
The entire structure was then covered in automotive resin putty and sanded meticulously for weeks…
sanding and smoothing the surface, ML 2008
Next, the structure is sprayed with an automotive primer paint, then sanded again before final painting…
spraying primer, ML 2008
The final paint is a metalic orange automotive paint with a few coats of clear….
final paint, ML 2008
Finally, the speakers, stereo, and video monitors are installed and the cart is mounted on the tricycle frame…
Pimp my Piragua, ML 2008
The project becomes interactive and performative as I take it into the community, playing music, video and selling Piraguas (shaved ice)…
Pimp my Piragua, Brooklyn, NY. Photo: J.Irani, 2009
Pimp my Piragua, Brooklyn, NY. Photo: J.Irani, 2009
Pimp my Piragua, Brooklyn, NY. Photo: J.Irani, 2009
