her silhouette

her silhouette

ideologies of classical and contemporary beauty, brought together in one piece of art.

her silhouette is entirely handmade using hand tools for the creating process, and on close inspection you may notice the piece has some subtle imperfections. Some may see great beauty in her silhouette, and others less so, signifying beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s imperfection is another’s perfection.

The overall appearance of her silhouette is beauty, and it is why I used the female form in a striking pose, elegant, proud, pure in white, naked with nothing to hide, the idea of a beautiful woman of natural beauty. To a man, I cannot imagine anything more perfect and more beautiful that the naked female form. The minimalist appearance of the body captures the essence of modern contemporary beauty, and the pendulum clock very much of classical significance is the beating heart of her silhouette. The clock face of her silhouette is crafted, painted and gilded with the finest gold leaf of classical appearance, and the pendulum moulded out of a heavy metal leading up to lighter thinner rod and finished the same. To combine precision and accuracy of classical principal, together with efficiency and ergonomics of modern technology, I use a smaller high torque, smooth movement quartz mechanism along with an independent pendulum drive unit to measure the time.

So why is it called her silhouette, and whose silhouette is it? The simply answer is because it is a silhouette of a lady, ‘her’. The word ‘silhouette’, because it means a dark shape or outline, no features, but can be striking. A silhouette has classical significance being effortlessly beautiful, and contemporary significance through being minimalist, and wrapped with an air of mystery. Whose silhouette? Well that is for the one looking at the art to decide. She is anything from your enchanting imagination to your deepest fantasy.

her silhouette captures the beautiful aspects of classical and contemporary style and principle. It does so gracefully and with elegance, a work of great passion to be viewed and appreciated as a timeless piece.

care and assembly

her silhouette is temperature sensitive, and is best left at around 21º Celsius.
When handling, please use clean cotton gloves or ensure hands are thoroughly washed. Always remove the pendulum from the cradle before her silhouette is moved. To do this remove the larger battery from the back, which will bring the pendulum to a halt. Gently unhook the pendulum and place it on a cushioned surface till ready to go back on the cradle.
When moving her silhouette, make note of the structure and always handle at the strongest points. The best place to lift her silhouette is by the top point of the oval shaped window, when being moved vertically. Place palm up and lift with one hand, gently supporting with the other up higher, making sure the back components and clock hands are not obstructed.

The entire surface, including the base has been polished with ‘Renaissance Wax’, as a protective layer. If dust or finger prints appear on her silhouette, use a soft cotton cloth (if required slightly damp with water) to wipe clean. The black base of her silhouette has adjustable feet, allowing slight alterations to be made in case of uneven floor surface and to align the pendulum perfectly before it swings. Place the base first into the desired position, then carefully align the holes in the feet of her silhouette with the three pins on the base and lower on. The base is there for alignment and steadying the horizontal aspect of her silhouette, but it will require vertical support to be given by one or more of the six points at the back.

A suggestion for placing her silhouette is in front of a darker contrasting background (crimson) or in the centre of a white room, so the back and workings can also be viewed. Soft spotlights, brighter in front and dimmer behind should light up the piece well and create a gentle silhouette on the contrasting background.

Adjust the feet of the base to near maximum height before placing in the desired position, then lift and lower her silhouette on. A suggestion for the vertical supports, are to have six clear acrylic, or glass rods with clear screws come out of the floor at varying heights to meet the six screw holes on the back of her silhouette. The transparent rods should disrupt the silhouette as little as possible when the lights are shone on to it. Other methods are also perfectly acceptable for vertical support, as long as the shape of the silhouette is not disturbed much. Once the vertical supports are positioned, and the screws are in the bottom of the screw holes on her silhouette, slower lower the feet on the base using a flat screwdriver, allowing the screws to move up and lock in. her silhouette is now secure and the pendulum can be placed back onto the cradle. Place the battery back in (check for polarity), and gently start the pendulum swinging.

An artist uses tools as an extension
of themselves to manifest what
they see within, to life.
A reflection of strong emotion
embedded into their work.
This is what I regard as art.