Silicon, epoxy paste, fishing line, oil colours, wood
44 x 50 x 25 cm.
17. Valter Casotto
Hand
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£8,000 - 12,000
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Valter Casotto's work explores the transformation of both human and individual identity over time. It is a recurring theme in his work where he combines hyper-realistism and abstraction. Through his work he invites viewers to consider and reflect upon the importance of their identity and memory over time and the possibility of surpassing the boundaries conventionally bestowed between them.
Hand depicts the back of Casotto's hand which transform the body into a mere shell for him to investigate the memories of previous events.
Examining his own drawings from when he was 3-5 years old, he finds images that are connected to events form his past and fictional drawings from his childhood imaginations. These images are then tattooed onto the sculpture and in doing so, by portraying the memories of his past onto the skin of his today, he connects the time and space of his life.
This practice of bring together different ages of his life was seen in his project We Will Never Meet at that Age. This involved creating a true to life wax self-portrait of his future self, an old and ageing man, and documenting his parents’ reaction at seeing their son at an age they will never meet in real life. This work created an impossible time breach in the fabric of his parents’ existence.
Casotto has worked for artists such as Damien Hirst and Paul McCarthy, and as a senior prosthetic makeup artist in the film industry on films such as: Harry Potter, X-Men: First Class, Prometheus and The Hobbit. Running parallel to his work in the film industry, he has continued to work on his own personal projects, including design work, painting, video projects and sculptures.