Foots pours a quick drying paste over his
model’s face.
model’s face.
The first step towards making a figure for Cayman Brac’s
Lost City of Atlantis is finding a willing subject, according to
the City’s creator, the artist known simply as ‘Foots’.
Located off the north coast of the Brac, the City is fast
gaining a reputation as a unique artificial reef, which is not
costing the Government of the Cayman Islands a penny to
make.
Among the columns, archways, the sundial and, later on, an
enormous pyramid, Foots plans to populate his City with
figures, which he categorizes into Elders, Sentinels,
Prophets and Maidens. There are also two Medicine Men.
The statue of Dr Hantray, who covered for private
practitioner Dr Charles Reid while he was away, Foots
confessed, is his favorite.
The doctor in real life has a short, neat beard, but Foots
gave his statue the long bushy beard the doctor always
wanted, but is forbidden to grow by his wife. “You don’t
have to be special to become part of Atlantis. Everybody
has their place in the world!"
The statues are of everyday people,” said Foots. Whether
people become his models depends on how he feels about
them. “It’s what I see in their eyes.
One of the many rewards of making Atlantis is that I get to
meet many cool people.” He said that tourists, journalists
and friends often just turn up in his yard. If Foots likes a
person and they agree to be a model, he said the next step
is to make a plaster of Paris mix, which is quick-setting,
sheet-rock paste, mixed with a little bit of sand, which makes
it set even quicker.
He puts straws in the model’s mouth so that they can
breathe throughout the process, plugs up their nose with
cotton wadding, and then spreads the paste over their face.
Once dry, which takes four to six minutes, he gently
removes what is now a perfect caste of the person’s face,
down to every wrinkle, every line, every scar.
Depending on what part they will play in Atlantis, Foots
makes a caste of their hands in much the same way. Elders
have their hands clasped in a set way. The Medicine Men
hold bottles and medicine cups, Sentinels and Prophets
have their hands hidden. Maidens can choose how they
want to hold their hands themselves.
The mould is made from the same sand and cement mix as
the rest of the body, and afterwards the caste is thrown
away. Foots then sculpts the body of his Atlantis figure
incorporating the mould of the face and hands, if these are
included, as if the person was lying flat on the floor. Then
the statue is stood up and fine-tuned.
Finally, it is washed down with rusty salt water to give it a
stained look. None of the materials he uses cause harm to
the environment, he insists. So far, although he has made a
number of figures, only one is on the dive site. Foots said
he is waiting for suitable weather conditions, at which point;
he will sink the next phase of Atlantis.
One of his more ambitious future projects will be to create
the Statue of Atlantis. This will be a colossus that, if it was
in one piece, it would be thirty feet high. However, Foots is
going to construct it bit by bit, as though the great statue
toppled over and broke into pieces with the destruction of
the Lost City. The Statue of Atlantis, like every other figure,
will be a real person, and he already knows who it will be.
He has also decided on the identity of the King and Queen of
Atlantis, who will be seated on their thrones in the City.
“There are all kinds of growth imaginable on Phase One,
which we sank last year,” claims Foots, who noted that
there are Eagle Rays, Peacock Flounders, angel fish, and
barracuda already moving onto the site. “When you fly over,
you can see Atlantis from the air on a clear day,” he added.
“The Pyramid of Atlantis is going to be unbelievable.”
nicky@caymannetnews.com
Lost City of Atlantis is finding a willing subject, according to
the City’s creator, the artist known simply as ‘Foots’.
Located off the north coast of the Brac, the City is fast
gaining a reputation as a unique artificial reef, which is not
costing the Government of the Cayman Islands a penny to
make.
Among the columns, archways, the sundial and, later on, an
enormous pyramid, Foots plans to populate his City with
figures, which he categorizes into Elders, Sentinels,
Prophets and Maidens. There are also two Medicine Men.
The statue of Dr Hantray, who covered for private
practitioner Dr Charles Reid while he was away, Foots
confessed, is his favorite.
The doctor in real life has a short, neat beard, but Foots
gave his statue the long bushy beard the doctor always
wanted, but is forbidden to grow by his wife. “You don’t
have to be special to become part of Atlantis. Everybody
has their place in the world!"
The statues are of everyday people,” said Foots. Whether
people become his models depends on how he feels about
them. “It’s what I see in their eyes.
One of the many rewards of making Atlantis is that I get to
meet many cool people.” He said that tourists, journalists
and friends often just turn up in his yard. If Foots likes a
person and they agree to be a model, he said the next step
is to make a plaster of Paris mix, which is quick-setting,
sheet-rock paste, mixed with a little bit of sand, which makes
it set even quicker.
He puts straws in the model’s mouth so that they can
breathe throughout the process, plugs up their nose with
cotton wadding, and then spreads the paste over their face.
Once dry, which takes four to six minutes, he gently
removes what is now a perfect caste of the person’s face,
down to every wrinkle, every line, every scar.
Depending on what part they will play in Atlantis, Foots
makes a caste of their hands in much the same way. Elders
have their hands clasped in a set way. The Medicine Men
hold bottles and medicine cups, Sentinels and Prophets
have their hands hidden. Maidens can choose how they
want to hold their hands themselves.
The mould is made from the same sand and cement mix as
the rest of the body, and afterwards the caste is thrown
away. Foots then sculpts the body of his Atlantis figure
incorporating the mould of the face and hands, if these are
included, as if the person was lying flat on the floor. Then
the statue is stood up and fine-tuned.
Finally, it is washed down with rusty salt water to give it a
stained look. None of the materials he uses cause harm to
the environment, he insists. So far, although he has made a
number of figures, only one is on the dive site. Foots said
he is waiting for suitable weather conditions, at which point;
he will sink the next phase of Atlantis.
One of his more ambitious future projects will be to create
the Statue of Atlantis. This will be a colossus that, if it was
in one piece, it would be thirty feet high. However, Foots is
going to construct it bit by bit, as though the great statue
toppled over and broke into pieces with the destruction of
the Lost City. The Statue of Atlantis, like every other figure,
will be a real person, and he already knows who it will be.
He has also decided on the identity of the King and Queen of
Atlantis, who will be seated on their thrones in the City.
“There are all kinds of growth imaginable on Phase One,
which we sank last year,” claims Foots, who noted that
there are Eagle Rays, Peacock Flounders, angel fish, and
barracuda already moving onto the site. “When you fly over,
you can see Atlantis from the air on a clear day,” he added.
“The Pyramid of Atlantis is going to be unbelievable.”
nicky@caymannetnews.com
A young Bracker admires the artist’s
favorite figure that of Dr. Hantray.
favorite figure that of Dr. Hantray.
| ATLANTIS CAYMAN BRAC TRADEMARK 2008, CAYMAN BRAC, CAYMAN ISLANDS, BRITISH WEST INDIES ALL PHOTOGRAPHY COPYRIGHT 2007, J. FOOTS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED |
Dr. Hantray standing beside the statue
created by Foots, who confessed is his
favorite.
created by Foots, who confessed is his
favorite.
Populating the beach are some of the
artists latest creations.
artists latest creations.