Project Facade: News

Willie’s pieces were amongst the first I started way back at the beginning of the project nearly 2 years ago. Willies story is particularly important, as he was the first patient whose skin grafts involved tubing the raw areas of the connecting pedicles to keep them free from infection.

So we are onto Alfie’s second piece. On this piece the chest pedicle is now on two points on the chin and the distant ends of the shoulder pedicles are freed and joined to the jaw area. 

It’s taken a while and a lot of reworking but the first of 3 pieces for Alfie are finished. Trying to tell his story over 3 pieces has been one of the most challenging I’ve taken on and I’m still struggling with the second and third pieces.

Finally I’m happy with Williams pieces telling his story from the back of the first piece to the front and then moving onto the front of the second piece. The first piece addresses the events leading up to him receiving his injury and the implantation of the cartilage structure under the skin of his forehead, the second addresses the surgery he underwent and notes his further military service.

Ernest’s uniform is one of the pieces that stands out as very different to all the other works. The cutting into joints of the jacket to acknowledge his pre-war employment as a journeyman butcher and the 1 in 10 chance of his surviving the battle in which he fought draw attention to the ‘butcher becoming the butchered’.

So, after a lengthy period of Walter hanging around the studio his piece is complete….meaning I started his piece at the beginning of the year and have spent an age trying to work out how to tell his story. The map on the back depicts the Somme where he was injured.