Magnetic Cyanotype Animal Sculptures by Tasha Lewis

Tasha-Lewis-Cyanotype-Scultpures-01

Tasha-Lewis-Cyanotype-Scultpures-09

There is a certain joyous playfulness in the sculptures of artist Tasha Lewis (previously), who is currently exhibiting her latest works in her solo show, “Moments of Thaw,” at the Harrison Center in Indianapolis. Though her sculptures look like taxidermied animals at first glance, each piece is actually crafted out of paper, tape and recycled materials, which are held together by powerful magnets. She once gets the form of the animal right, she covers the body with a “skin” of fabric cyanotype images, which have been hand-sewn to one another. Every part of the covering is a photograph made from a digital negative, and some skins are a collage of over 15 different images.

More from her site:

My work for this show explores how sculpture can transition through seemingly impermeable barriers. For the past year I have been creating pieces which use magnets to almost magically connect separate pieces of mixed media sculpture through solid walls. The result is that the natural form— my main muse— appears to be both actively breaking through the enclosure while simultaneously remaining dependent on the solid form to give its body shape. Thus, these animals and plants are arrested during a surge of forward momentum. The ‘thaw’ of the show’s title is the apparent momentary loss of solidity that the glass container, wooden box or plaster wall has experienced which allowed nature to break through.

The exhibit will be on view till January 25, 2013 at the Harrison Center.

Visit her site for more details.

Hit the jump to see more images taken from the show.

(more…)

Continue ReadingMagnetic Cyanotype Animal Sculptures by Tasha Lewis

Tasha Lewis’s Butterfly Swarm Sculptures

Guerilla-Sculptures-Tasha-Lewis

Guerilla-Sculptures-Tasha-Lewis-07

Artist Tasha Lewis has spent the last month traveling around the US to install her ephemeral butterfly swarms onto metal objects in public urban spaces. Her lovely butterflies seemingly liven up the drab locations, just as their real life counterparts do.

Each of her 400 butterflies were made by printing double sided cyanotypes on cotton fabric. After cutting the images, she stiffened them with glue, before hand sewing a small but powerful magnet on the bodies of the butterflies. As she uses magnets, there is no harm done to the objects which she has chosen to attach her sculptures to. Tasha says that this is very important, as for many of her installs, she does “pan-temporal collaborations with artists who create sculptures for public spaces.” She also adds that she hopes her installations will turn into public performances and events, while the swarm grows even more bigger in size.

Tasha is currently based in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can visit her Tumblr where she features an ever growing photo collection of the sculptures.

Hit the jump to see more images.

(more…)

Continue ReadingTasha Lewis’s Butterfly Swarm Sculptures