Two years ago, Toronto Artist, Evan Penny's Stretch #1 made an appearance at the Art Gallery Ontario in Toronto.
The crowd flocked to the piece ignoring the competitive artists surrounding the enormous sculpture. The experience is simply mind blowing; a human image perfected down to the finest detail.
From a 45 degree angle the silicone giant appears perfect. It would be as if you turned to face the profile of a person 2 metres away. But when viewing it from a straight on angle it's completely apparent that the sculpture has been vertically exaggerated.
Now, Penny has entirely invaded the top floor of the gallery with his oversized hyper realistic sculptures. The process is a lengthy one. The sculpture begins as a clay mold which is plastered with urethane rubber, synthetic resin and layers of silicone to create the texture of the skin. Fine faux hairs are precisely sewed in and pigmented shades are painted on to create the realistic imperfections of skin.
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Penny explores time with the self portrait. Digging up an old photograph, he produces a sculpture of his past self. Then, using technology, he fast forwards time and creates an image of his future self. Standing between a young and old Penny, you can't help but compare the two and reflect on who you were a couple years ago and what the future has in store. (Cheers to 2013!)
With an entire series of Stretch and many other depictions of fictional and real life characters, this was definitely a must see exhibit.
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