The Making of a Model

In early 2016 I was commissioned by Te Kura Toi Whakaari O Aotearoa to rebuild a set model and strengthen it for travel across New Zealand. As fascinating as the finished product is to look at, the process is equally as - if not more - fascinating to watch unfold.

I collected a series of images on my phone as an in-progress update for a group of friends as the model came together, and what a journey it was...

So here, in full is the making of the model. Please excuse potato-quality images; it was after all only a phone camera.

This is the empty model box I was given by the school. My job was to create a scene within this space. I took inspiration from the stained walls and peeling wallpaper of the room, the small collection of unorganised paperwork in the middle, and a character from the Alex Rider book series by Anthony Horowitz; a tireless journalist hell-bent on exposing the young teen-spy and extorting the government for much needed cash.

The beginning of paperwork creation....

Tiny 1:25 scale piles of A4 paperwork, and books.

With all that paperwork, you need somewhere to store it! Archive boxes began to form...

A journalist needs a sturdy desk to work on... but what about all those books?

Books belong on shelves... and there's a black curtain rail in the middle of the 'golden ticket' there too... just barely visibly installed on the top right-hand corner of the set box image.

And surely with a magnificent desk, must be a comfortable chair.

And who is the man who sits in that chair?

Working through placement to make sure the entire room tells the story of who lives here...

There is not enough paperwork to begin to show his desperation... I decide I need more... and then progress with:

There is detail outside the door too, never leave a space unconsidered... what more can we learn about this man through the way he lives in this room?

I test and craft the scene carefully, making sure each detail will work to make the full picture...

Final Images: