Polyurethane Foam and Plastic

Ive been a bit confused on what to do for Alternative Miss World with my materials. Ive enjoyed using plaster but the weight of it probably wont work for my ideas as it needs to be light ish to stand up. My idea is to use a messy raw sort of material that can be cheap or look inexpensive, i want to pour this over my sculpture that will run onto the floor to hopefully give it some structure and hold it to the floor. These are some sketches of my ideas so far.

I like the effect plaster gives and like that it looks chalky and matte and also that parts are crumbling away and deteriating. However for the scale im wanting to make this i dont think it will work or stand up, the legs i made had to be stapled to the wall and still this wouldnt hold it for too long. I started looking into other materials that would be a lot lighter, i experimented with some latex but only in a 2d form so i need to try it on 3d surfaces to see how it looks. I liked the shiny rubbery surface it made when i mixed it with glitter, i want to use cheap tacky sort of materials like glitter etc.

My next idea was expanding foam as i could still use chicken wire to make the basic shape. Also after making the legs with plaster the effect it gave inside would be similar or stronger when using expanding foam which i liked.





The main artist i could think of that used foam was Folkert De Jong who puts pigment into the foam to colour it although it isnt expanding, the colours and textures remind me of cakes and sweets.


Folkert has also collaborated with fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck, this may help if i decide to make a costume/sculptural piece.

Someone who uses polyurethane plastic is Nick Van Woert,  he uses historical sculptures and busts then covers with plastic to disfigure and cover the sculpture but also the way he lets the plastic sets then displays changes the gravity of the work.

These materials are normally used for casting, an artist using resin casting is Darren Lago he contrasts the material with the subject matter but i find his use of materials more interesting. He puts pigment into the resin using bright sweet colours then glass over the top. Another idea would be to make a cast using the material instead of pouring over something else.