Repoussé

“Whilst repoussé has a great ancestry, it is almost forgotten in contemporary sculpture. The deep red glow of the annealed bronze sheet, the reverberation of the beaten metal and the magic of form-giving to a flat sheet is rarely experienced nowadays.”

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Being Bashful...

Repoussé and chasing of sheet bronze are some the oldest metal working techniques of mankind and can be traced back to Greek armours of the 3rd century BCE. Sheet metal work also has a great cultural significance for the region, evident in many of the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Mediæval archæology finds in the area such as the Bann Disk or the Broighter Boat. The choice of bronze is also associated with maritime fittings and the copper and bronze sheeting of yacht hulls.

The sails were worked on a large bed of sand, linking the process to the beach where the work is located. The pressure of the hammer blows, billows the sheet like the pressure of the wind billows sails. And like with real sails, we were using broad-seaming, where wedges are cut out of the edges of the sheet to shape the belly of the sail. The rear side of the sculpture resembles the cut and lay-out of a traditional canvas sail with joints and a flat texture. The tight funding deadline only allowed for six week fabrication time and the work was installed on the 21st February 2011.

Fabrication | Fabrication Images at bottom of this page

Fabrication

The Process

The fabrication is a collaboration with the workshop of Apex Engineering, Coalisland and a team of experienced builders, welders, engineers and makers have contributed with their skills and expertise.

Sheet bronze was first laid out on plywood patterns and then cut with a large guilloutine. These sheets were then welded and laid on a bed of sand, where they were worked with large hammers and mallets made from fence posts. After complete shaping, they were TIG-welded onto the internal structure made of 5mm stainless steel and closed in with the backing sheets. After cleaning, a patina was applied and the work was then polished in parts, gilded and waxed. A test dig on site determined the soil conditions and Donal Lynch, the structural engineer calculated the foundations specifications. Anchor plates were nanufactured and gavanized together with the rebar mats. After patination and waxing, the work was transported on a low loader to Portrush and installed with a teleporter.

 

Environmental Impact

The project used approximately 608 GJ of energy in processing and sourcing the materials (Embodied Energy - EE). The total CO2 emissions of the project amount to 14.35 tons of CO2. The use of significant amounts of concrete - more than 25m3 or 60t - in the foundations accounts for more than 70% of the EE. Spread over a minimum expected lifespan of 200 years for the sculpture, this accounts for 33,400MJ and 0.72t of CO2 per annum.

Access the full Environmental Impact Study for the project (200KB PDF file; opens in a new window).


Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011
Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011
Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011
Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011
Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011
Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011 Holger Lonze, sculpture for Portrush East Strand, bronze 2011

Fabrication Images

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