Gold Coast artist Ilia Chidzey has created a series of sculpted artworks using a unique concrete blend developed in close collaboration with the research and development team at Concrete Colour Systems (CCS).
The full depth coloured polished GFRC (Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete) is an extremely high strength, stable and malleable concrete blend produced through time consuming experimentation with various formulations. While this concrete mix is not commercially available at the moment, it opens up opportunities for sculpting as well as moulding.
Ilia is particularly impressed with the intensity of colour resulting from the use of CCS oxides. The new concrete mix has a clay-like consistency, which combined with a limitless range of aggregates available offers exciting and versatile creative opportunities.
These days, Ilia spends a lot of time around aquarium and pet shops studying aggregates and scheming of new ways to utilise this exciting concrete blend. Thanks to the strength of the concrete and its glass fibre reinforcement, one can, with the right technique, produce sections as thin as 3mm and still retain great structural integrity.
“This is possibly the most exciting media I have ever worked with!” said Ilia. “I can’t stop thinking of different ways to push this material. Every piece is an experimental adventure.”
