The five life size figures painstakingly created by sculptor Emma Hardy, from layer upon layer of packing tape, appear too realistic to be created from just paper. A quiet observer can actually hear their heart beats emanating from each of the figures. These are the real sounds of the hearts of characters Hardy modeled after people in her small home town of Jamestown, Colorado. The five sculptures are positioned by a truly realistic tree sculpture made of paper bark that serves as both the actual and representative heart of the installation. Viewers are encouraged to touch the sculptures and explore the space. Faint beats can be eerily heard when in close proximity, and all five heartbeats are combined within the tree to suggest a collective consciousness.

Emma says the inspiration for her packing tapes sculptures project came after her mother suddenly passed away from heart failure, and Packages was created in her memory. She explains her work by offering, "The five figures orbiting the tree represent our individuality and sometimes isolation within our community."

Emma uses Kraft paper and packing tape in a new sculpture technique that she developed in which layers upon layers are added to each other to produce very realistic, tactile and durable life size figures that recall the work of  Duane Hanson; viewers almost expect them to move or speak. Her art seem to stretch the limits of imagination and creativity by working in an everyday, disposable medium and elevating it to art, so much so that the beholder overlooks how the art was made and just sees a work of art.

Over the past 5 years Emma has received numerous grants and a number of commissions. Her preferred medium is paper tape, the potential for which is enormous.

Ms. Hardy was born in in 1967 in Lincolnshire, England and earned a BA in Sculpture at the Wimbledon School of Art in London. Emma travel extensively before marrying and settling in the USA where she has resided for the past 15 years. She currently lives in Jamestown near Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two boys. Her studio is also located just outside of Boulder, Colorado. Over the past five years Emma has received numerous grants and a number of commissions. Her preferred medium is paper tape, the potential for which is enormous. To see more of Emma Hardy's work click here

ED MCCORMICK

Edmund McCormick is the founder of Cape Crystal Brands and EnvironMolds LLC. He is the author of several non-fiction “How-to” books, past publisher of the ArtMolds Journal Magazine, editor of Beginner's Guide to Hydrocolloids, and author of six eBook recipe books available for download on this site. He resides in Far Hill, NJ and lives and breathes his art and food blogs as both writer and editor. You can follow him on Twitter and Linkedin.