CAST DIRT Margot Shafran
HOW CAN MATERIAL IN SITU BE USED AS CONCRETE FORMWORK?
Initial Conditions | Tuesday December 5th 6:04am Site located outside Givens Hall in a previously disturbed site for the reconstruction of a loading dock. This is where I make my castings.
collected materials piled in a line. Water had previously been frozen (in a freezer) to form different configurations of ice blocks.
A moment to reposition materials found on a site. A making of form to reflect context with the potential to physically reference site conditions or capture a moment in time.
material has been cast with rockite concrete Rockite is a fast-setting, self-leveling, water based structural anchoring compound. It was chosen over concrete due to its ability to set quickly and in cold temperatures. When mixed with minimal water, it is elastic, like a yeast dough.
HOW DOES THIS MODE OF WORKING OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIND FORM INSTEAD OF DICTATING FORM?
AN EXPLORATION OF POTENTIALS INSTEAD OF EXPECTATIONS
Concrete will harden in the shape of the material bounding it and is dependent on the gravitational pull of the earth, and its viscosity. Concrete is structural in compression. Site material may adhere to concrete which may or may not be removed.
This work was an effort to set initial conditions, then allow the properties of each material to generate form. Although the forms are somewhat speculative, the outcome of each piece is totally unique and impossible to predetermine. Through this method of making I discovered spatial and material relations that I would have otherwise overlooked, or not have had the sensibility to design from scratch. This is a generative way of making that requires testing, open-mindedness, and audacity to be willing to let go of control of an otherwise very controlled method of making form - casting concrete.
AS ALWAYS, THIS WORK IS STILL IN PROCESS.