Jeffrey Gibson's 'The Animal That Therefore I Am'

The creation started beyond the workshop floor.

Our Rock Tavern team made two trips to Gibson's studio and scanned the original maquettes of the deer, hawk, squirrel, and coyote. They then created 3D models from these scans.

These large prints were prepared for investment casting at our New York foundry and refined to remove any flaws that may have occurred during the printing process.

During the casting process, we poured molten metal at approximately 1562 degrees Fahrenheit into the shells, allowing the sculptures to take a form in metal.

After the pieces were welded together, our finishing team focused on filling in any holes and ground down the welds on the pieces, ensuring a polished and textured surface.

Gibson highlights the interconnectedness between all living things and the environment by selecting four species native to New York.

It combines Native North American aesthetic traditions and histories with abstracted patterning evoking materials like beading and textiles.

Combined with lectures of Jacques Derrida, Gibson's sculptures emphasise the deep relationship between humans and animals.

The deer stands at 10 feet 3 inches, the hawk at 9 feet 2.5 inches, the squirrel at 9 feet 6 inches, and the coyote at 9 feet 4.5 inches.

Together, these four majestic sculptures weigh a total of 5,381.9 pounds. The individual weights of each animal are as follows: the deer weighs 1,195 pounds, the hawk weighs 1,585 pounds, the squirrel weighs 1,361.5 pounds, and the coyote weighs 1,210.4 pounds.