H O M E   
Sam-I-Am Does Potatoes

 

&t; gallery .
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  The Ascent of Man
1996
waxed dried potato
60" x 40"


detail view


This is one of the first larger scale pieces I attempted using the potato men. The "hills" are all detachable, and it has been assembled in a number of ways before arriving at the final composition.

To make the piece I had to make a couple dozen of the figures - requiring me to be pretty certain about how they would come out. The variation in colour comes mainly from the temperature in the final stages of the baking / drying. I found turning it up quite a bit for the last 10 minutes caused the figures to "plump back out" to their orginal shape - ironing out a lot of the wrinkles, and restoring the orientation of the limbs - as the last of the water evaporated.

 
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