BAMS - Finished Medal



"The first step in making the ‘Remnants of a Supernova’ medal was the decision to collaborate, which came about through our shared interests in the poetics of materials and the desire to follow a conceptual approach. As we work mostly in three-dimensional mediums in our separate practices, embarking on a project with a new material prompted a curiosity in the bronze itself; we were particularly drawn to its weight and solidity in the palm. It was very important to us that the design would be intrinsic to the medium and direct all focus to the physical properties and poetic nuances of bronze.

 

All matter on Earth was once among the stars and therefore no object is without history. Copper and tin, the primary elements of the medal’s bronze alloy, are produced in supernovae - the celestial explosion that occurs when a star has exhausted its fuel. Thus, around the edge read the words REMNANTS OF A SUPERNOVA FITTING COMFORTABLY IN THE PALM. On one side there is inscribed the chemical formula of the bronze used, CuSn4, and on the other an impression of a hand so that it fits naturally into the palm when held.

 

Stars are inherently poetic, they are profoundly beautiful and mysterious, and exist as a constant in the course of humanity and man’s understanding of the world. Entwined in centuries of myth, religion and science, stars both represent and invoke questions of who we are and how we came to be. Revealing the material’s history, its identity, elevates the significance of the medal in the mind. Although purposefully simple in design, the metal traverses time and space, existing as remnant, as residue of distant places and historic happenings. It rests in the hand as tangible evidence of an astronomical phenomenon of a scale beyond human comprehension.

 

The medal was made initially from wax, we poured hot wax into the palm, holding it until cool in order to pick up the details of the skin. The impression of the palm is a suggestion of our place in the Universe. Not only drawing the arm downwards and evoking an awareness of the body, the handprint is a record of something acutely personal to one human at one particular moment, made from elements that have been recycled throughout time and space."

 

 

 

I was pretty happy with our final medal. Ed and I both agreed that it was an accurate outcome to represent both of us together - the medal would have been entirely different if it were made by either of us alone. It was most certainly a collaboration. I am really glad that I worked with someone else; it was good to be able to discuss ideas and decisions together, when both of us really cared about the outcome. It is also really satisfying to achieve something together as a team.

 

We received some really good feedback from people - about the surface of the medal, how it looks like stars, and what a thoughtful concept it is. Apparently the writing is also particularly clear and well executed. Bronze is something I would be more open to working with in the future as I have enjoyed the process and think it is such a beautiful weighty material.