Physical Properties

• Gelatin (Collagen) based.
• Non-toxic.
• Permanent. Does not dry-out or decay.
• Optical Clarity/ Light Transmission. Prismatic effects vary with the exterior shape and surface texture.
• Flexibility/ Mobility. Single harmonic frequency of motion is intrinsic to each casting. Varies with mass, shape and gel content.
• Can be made in any color and flavor.
• Scent. Artificial flavors added.
• Can be made firmer or looser by altering gel content.
• Soft, flesh-like texture.
• Gains and loses weight perpetually in an ongoing, lag-time pattern with atmospheric humidity levels. (Within a range of +2% to –6% of its’ just cast, original weight.)
• Thermo-reversibility. Material may be re-cooked and re-cast several times without detrimental effect.

The idea of using Jell-O as a sculptural medium came to me as a result of consciously trying to free my mind from the traditional constraints of sculpture making. Over the course of a year of experimentation, research and testing, and with the help of numerous food scientists and chemists, I developed a recipe and technique for the creation of a unique gelatin-based material that has the look, feel and scent of real Jell-O, yet will not shrink, rot, decay or melt at room temperatures, and therefore, has indefinite longevity. It is my belief that to fully realize the full potential of the concept, and to provide the viewer’s eye and imagination with a maximum sense of new experience, this work must be executed on a monumental scale.

Though this work remains unrealized at that scale, its thermo-reversibility (from liquid to solid and back again many times over), its’ industrial scale cooking equipment, and cast on-site molding and de-molding processes are also of great interest and create the possibility for spectacle in a traveling museum show, where the work is cut up, re-cooked and recast in each new venue. The work pictured here are a mix of actual castings and a series of concepts looking for funding.