The recent development of my work has in time drawn me into exploring the possibilities of a very traditional concept: the portrait. My latest works have been portraits that I either carve in wood or execute in clay and then cast in polyurethane foam. The portraits (mainly of people I know) are made by memory and they all deal with the difficulties and limits of human communication, a theme I have been dealing with for quite some time. The use of polyurethane foam as casting material has given me the idea for a relatively easy and durable substance to use for a time limited sculpture to be placed outside. The lightness of the foam would make the sculpture easy to transport, and this also could be a possibility in the installation. I would start the commission by shooting at random a roll of film of people in the street for each borough of New York, using a similar set-up for each photograph. I would then scan all the (100+) images and over impose them on each other digitally. By playing with different Photoshop features I should be able to create a vague impression of one human face. I would then make a twenty feet sculpture of the head with foam on a chicken wire and wood frame. The piece can then be transported to different locations for the duration of the exhibit. The aim of the piece is to portray the feelings of ambition, despair, solitude and hope New Yorkers experience in their daily lives.

© Stefano Pasquini 2001