A fleshy melding of man and machine able to survive the harsh world that he helped create, displaying his wealth for all to see.
In 2023 this costume was developed through a year long research project delving into how costume reveals character and world, specifically focusing on transhuman themes. Through research and experimentation a world and character were created.
Imagine a dystopian world
Grey and devoid of singing birds and green leaves. A clear divide between the rich and the suffering. Humans have prolonged life through technological enhancement, while neglecting everything else on this path to immortality. The poor, forced to live with the consequences of benefits they could not reap, while the wealthy pushed technology and their bodies to survive the unrevivable world they had built.
Model: Jackson Hurwood
Through traditional tailoring and prop making techniques of sculpting, moulding, casting, thermoplastics and electronics the character’s status and values are revealed;
He is a wealthy man, able to flaunt the best he has; a clean, bespoke tailored overcoat, revealing his deteriorating body. His jacket deliberately revealing his skeletal body, a sign of death for most but he has the money and power to mock death and wear it. Veins exposed, delicate and accessible but he knows he is untouchable. His heart, a machine just out of sight, manually pushing blood through his body, both in and out, protected by a few layers of clothing rather than the embrace of the ribcage. His real one had failed long ago, but there is no need to worry about that anymore.
Watch the process
