VANITAS: A PORTRAYAL OF HUMAN DEGENERATION

Apollo, god of light, he who knows the occult, he who has building skills, owner of the bow and music. Today, mankind has developed a god-like persona. with its knowledge, it’s bow string, symbol of militancy, has been stretched more than ever. Yet instead of reaching a prosperous and peaceful present from its past, we find ourselves in a present marred by conflict and decay. Mold, symbol of degeneration creeps over Apollo’s face, settling upon his brain, symbol of human thought, as a testament to our declining dignity. Darkness has taken hold, consuming what little remains of our once-great civilization.

Stone Sculpture with Various Fungus grown over it.
First Sculpture from “The State of Decay” Series

Size:

63x40x30cm

Materials:

Herat Marble, Afghanistan Red Onyx, Iranian Pink Onyx, Iranian Green Onyx, Black Marble, Resin, Various Fungus (Aspergillus flavus, Acremonium, penicillium digitatum, Gliocladium), Cotton, Threads

About the Project:

I started this artwork as a Digital concept, I created the scene in ZBrush and rendered in 3ds max. and then with my friend Mohsen Zare used CNC milling. then the hand sculpting and final details were done, I created the parts separately and attached them together. for the fungus parts I Faced many errors and failures, wrong colors, problem of fixing the fungus, etc. But the thing that kept me going was that I saw that life is growing on a stone, thanks to Ms.Rokni, the Mycologist who helped me to create a pipeline for developing and fixing the fungus. Sara tehraninia Helped to create a structure and base under the fungus with so they can hold still. It was a really challenging yet amazing experiment for me, and the Sculpture that you’re seeing is I believe the first ever Stone sculpture with fungus grown over it. Thanks to Nima Ghari for the Photograph and the videography.