Goddess Isis, 2023. 13 x 21 ft. Gold leaf papyrus, natural papyrus, gold mylar, steel pins, pigmented ink on foam core. Measured in inches and calculated angle degrees. Adornment / Artifact Exhibition at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza curated by Jill Moniz. 

Once all shapes are in place, I begin to interweave the gold mylar with measurements in whimsical form, shooting outward from Goddess Isis and pinned at ends. She glows in gold! Her powerful image and aura ignited in gold!  

Finally, once all the foam core shapes have been cut, filled with the Goddess's details and completed, they were boxed and ready for installation. I gathered the original cut out pieces of Goddess Isis and packed them for installation day for they are my guides on the exhibition wall.

I used natural papyrus paper and gold leafed it to use to construct all the detail shapes of Goddess Isis. I used gold mylar strands as the measurement indicators. On each tip of these gold strands are the measurements and calculated angle degrees for each shape creating a dramatic cape.

Once all pattern shapes of Goddess Isis are in place, then the individual foam core pieces get in stalled on the wall.

For this exhibition artists were invited to create a work of art based on artifacts and jewels from the Getty Villa exhibition, Nubia: Jewels of Ancient Sudan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, I was drawn to the Goddess Isis neck piece that help me to create the sculptural installation. I was completely attracted to the beauty in detail in of this small yet powerful piece depicting her strength, protective gesture and healing powers. I wanted to recreate it but in larger scale piece by piece appreciating and investigating each detail of the Goddess Isis. 

Piece by piece. Inch by inch her shape and form came to be in my kitchen wall. Unfortunately, I was unable to cook while creating her in the kitchen to prevent a hazardous situation! As powerful her image is, in my kitchen she was flammable!

Once all the shapes were cut, measured and completed, I individually pinned the gold shapes with steel pins on papyrus paper mounted on1/2" foam broad cut into large sectional shapes for easy install. 

To create the sculptural piece I created paper pattern guides to help visualize and accurately construct Goddess Isis's form. I created her in the only available wall in my studio apartment, the kitchen wall long enough to construct her.

Measured and Fragmented: Goddess Isis, 2023. Collage, glue, pigment ink and graphite on paper. Measured in Inches and calculated angle degrees. 18" x 24". Private collection. 

This final drawing is the a study and blue print in creating the larger sculptural piece.  It was shown as well in the Adornment /Artifacts at Eastern Projects. It is a guide of getting each detail in the sculpture accurately.  

I used a photocopy image of Goddess Isis and cut it into fragmented shapes and reconstructed to have spaces in between like a puzzle.  I then proceeded to measure the individual shapes in inches and the angle degrees of the each shape investigating its form one piece at a time. With a pigment ink pen I draw a straight line outward with  a ruler and write the inches at the end with graphite and for the angle degrees I freehandedly draw a wavey line and at its end are the calculated angle degrees of each angle.   

On installation day, I started with placing all the cut shapes as my guide to make sure the piece is appropriately placed accordingly to curators layout.  The guides are incredibly easier to move around then the foam core shapes! The use of a lift makes it even more easier to install!

Enrique Castrejon :  Los Angeles, CA