| SUMMER 2008 |
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Talking Heads with Steven Gregory  I've always been drawn to skulls and bones. Even as a kid I was fascinated by small animal skeletons and took them apart to examine them and today I work with human ones.The defining moment when I started to work with skulls and bones was when I was asked to participate in a group show called Tooth and Claw. Need I say more? Instantly a skull covered in lapis lazuli sprung to mind, one eye winking and with its sharp teeth inverted like a vampire. The show never did happen but that's how it all came about. Once upon a time it was easy to get your hands on old bones. Today I shop for my bones through a guy who deals in scientific antiques. Some of the skulls were used as teaching aids in medical schools. They're often damaged, arriving without a skeleton, or indeed without a head. Children's skulls and those with deformities don't interest me; I think that would give my work a completely different connotation. I buy my gems from a specialist shop in Hatton Garden. I spend my time hunting through cupboards searching for what I need. But once I had to go as far as New York to source some pearls. When the skull which became 'Gummy Mummy' (pictured) arrived she had no teeth. The bone of the jaw had filled in all the teeth sockets. She looked old so I wanted something that reminded me of aged skin so I chose blue lace agate. The veiny eyes added to the affect. The look and feel of the skulls definitely influence my choice of materials. I once got a skull with a beautiful shaped head which just had to belong to a gorgeous woman so I covered her in pearls. You need to use a good abrasive to key the surface of the skull. I also use a range of superglues depending on the material I'm using to cover the skull, they vary in viscosity from very thick to quite thin. I aim to breathe life back into human skulls, embellishing them with precious stones and metals, imbuing them again with personality and life-blood. Flesh is replaced by jet, pearls, malachite and glass beads, rubies and diamonds replace freckles and beauty spots. I have fantasises that sometimes when I leave my studio Rumplestiltskin will appear and finish the job for me. Though I do enjoy the intricate and lengthy process it takes to make each one. Because the process takes time, you do get to know them. It's when the eyes go in that you meet the person, there's a twinkle in the eye and a smile. It's like "Well hello there, thought I recognised you." Steven Gregory is a sculptor and master craftsman who engages in things that are truly human such as life, death and random cards that one is dealt on the journey.
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