Home

About this site
Welfare State

Giant images
Masqued Ball
Mumming
Puppets
Shadow puppets
Site analysis
Site decoration

• Banners
• Lanterns

Bands

• Drums
• Gongs
• Large shakers
• Thongophone
• Saxophone
• Small shakers

Street parades
Worksheets

Case study
Papers
Research links

S A F E T Y
The practical work involved in devising celebrations requires the occupational health and safety practices associated with the visual and performing arts. Always put safety first.

Giant images

Ideal:

Creation of the giant. There is a particular scale, which is 3 x human size, that propels images into the mythic world of the giant. This returns us to childlike wonder and amazement and opens up a world of imaginative possibilities. For the maker to work on this scale is to be freed of mundane constraints and to enter a world of creative possibility.

Form:

For any natural or mythic form built larger than itself and 3 x human size. It must be light and strong, and safe for operators, performers and spectators.

Principles:

• Work with light flexible and strong materials.
• Use what's available: basket (rattan) cane, basket willow, light wire mesh, poplar, stringbark saplings, poly pipe.
• Make drawings to work from.
• Make a model - triangulate the structure.
• Build the core with strong materials.
• Work to create the lightest possible surface.
• Build in sections that can be safely carried and taken out through the workshop door.
• Cover with a light cheap material - newspaper and flour and water or a 50/50 mix of PVA glue and water.
• Paint with plastic/acrylic paint - use strong primary colours and paint in the details.
• Articulate arms and legs - make simple joints.
• Have people operate from outside - at this scale they won't be seen.
• Destroy it once used to keep it alive.

Practices:

• Rehearse the movements and the quality of the movement looking for opposites (agressive/sad, happy/hurt, playful/bossy).
• Solve making problems by planning, making a model, letting your fingers do the making. Stand well back from your growing image regularly to gauge its shape and effect.
• A giant finger is 3 x the size of your finger, a giant forearm 3 x wider than your arm, same for the head, chest, leg, foot, etc.
• The surface must be light - the structure is merely a mechanism for holding the surface which in turn is only there to hold the paint.
• Paint strengthens and waterproofs the surface.
• Once used turn the image into a bonfire and get rid of it before it loses its majesty and effect - don't be precious about this - there's an amazing release and stimulation to let the image reside only in the imagination. A torn, dusty puppet is just a tattered ragbag.
• Rehearse the intended performance to ensure every operator is safe and operating safely for other operators and the spectators/public. No one must have to carry anything but an easily carried weight. Be very aware of dangers such as overhead powerlines, proximity to traffic, fire, other performers - and always build in a large margin of safety. Time everything for the slowest and weakest to be comfortably able to complete the performance.

	Case study: Building a giant beetle This image shows the sketches made prior to starting work on our giant beetle. The plans included cross sections and samples of joints and backpack harnesses.
	The beetle construction was divided into sections: here you can see work underway on one of the body sections. It has been constructed from a combination of light bamboo and plastic irrigation pipe. The joints have been wired together and then taped over to reduce the risk of injury. Strips of foam are in place to provide a base for the fabric covering.
	The fabric covering was dyed and then stretched over the frame while still wet. Note that the fabric shrinks as it dries.
	Here you can glimpse the interior of a body section. Lumps of foam rubber where placed beneath the covering to produce a lumpy effect on the outside. These were further emphasised with paint.
	The beetle was painted using acrylic paints. Darker shades provided shadow effects and gave the surface a sense of texture.
	The giant beetle as it makes its way towards the audience. A small torch provides a glow to the eyes. External operators waved the beetle's articulated arms, while a crew inside marched the image forward, guided by a "marshall".