Paddy Hartley is the Lead Artist of Project Facade.
This project responds to the patient records of The Gillies Archive and later life experiences of First World War Servicemen who underwent facial reconstructive surgery at the hand of New Zealander Sir Harold Delf Gillies and his surgical team. Paddy constructs three dimensional collage uniform sculptures that explore the cases of these soldiers and their stories.
The pieces includes notes, records and diagrams of the cases, which embellish the uniforms, taking the viewer on a extraordinary journey . Each sculpture tells a story of how these facial surgeries, which were pioneering techniques at the time, were executed and the process that the soldiers went through. It’s fascinating stuff.
These works are astonishing. The subject matter is remarkable, and the way that Paddy has interpreted these amplifies the emotion of the narratives. The work does not sensationalise these stories, but it does enforce the lengths that the individuals went to in their pursuit of regaining a “normal” face.
For more information on this amazing project, visit the Project Facade website.
Mr X
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4 thoughts on “The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge – Paddy Hartley”
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17 December 2009 at 5:14 pm
whooooaaa!
17 December 2009 at 7:01 pm
Like, totally.
I just wish I had bigger pictures…
18 December 2009 at 3:27 am
Wow.
18 December 2009 at 9:24 pm
I saw this in the Embroidery Magazine last year and was really impressed then. Wish I was in the UK to see all this cutting edge stuff. Typical I move to the US and then find out about textiles- talk about timing!