Head Cast

In the break I went into the casting workshop and made a head cast mold. I wanted a realistic version of my face if I am talking about my identity because a persons face is (most often) the thing people notice first and use as a judgement of identity/cultural belonging.

Here are some of the photos I took of the process via timelapes:

We covered my clothing with a coat and aprons to keep the silicon mix off of them. I had to wear a shower cap because we couldn't find a non latex bald cap (latex affects the mixture from setting).

We had to put Vaseline all over my face especially on my eyelashes and eyebrows so my hair wouldn't be pulled out (I also had to tape all the piercings I couldn't take out).

Here they are mixing up the molding mix. I bought it but it comes in 2 separate parts that have to be weighed and mixed together.

They started at the back of my head

Then moved over the top onto my face

They covered everything except my nostrils so I could still breathe.

I then had to wait 20 minutes for it to dry

Here they are applying a second coat of the mix and inserting corks so when the plaster goes on it aligns in the end.

waiting another 20 mins for it to dry

The silicon itself is not a very strong material so it has to be reinforced with plaster bandage

They started by making a middle pathway to separate the front and back parts

Back done

Once the back had dried they put Vaseline on the middle separation and started working the front. The Vaseline stops them from sticking together so that they can be pulled apart easily.