Bronze Bell Sculptures by Koa Bronze (Jay Lloyd)
Height Dimension Small (70mm) Medium (95mm) & Large (100mm)
Jay Lloyd - Waiheke Island
At first glance, these bronze Singing Penguins appear playful, their rounded forms reminiscent of Jay’s closed bells. Yet behind their charming simplicity lies a deeply technical and highly innovative process that pushes the boundaries of traditional bronze casting.
In conventional sculpture, bronze is cast hollow through the lost wax process - a method that involves creating a wax model, forming a core inside, and then melting the wax away to leave a cavity for molten metal. While effective, this technique is time-intensive and limited in the variations it allows.
Instead, Jay has spent more than 35 years developing and refining a unique casting process that uses an advanced industrial sand - normally reserved for large-scale automotive and engineering production. Adapting this method to a studio practice, the artist has pioneered a way to create one-of-a-kind artworks with precision and efficiency, achieving results comparable to lost wax but in a fraction of the time.
This sand-based technique allows for the construction and alteration of internal cores in ways that would be nearly impossible with traditional methods. In the case of the Singing Penguins, the artist manipulates the inner geometry to form delicate protrusions, or "antennae," inside the bronze shell. When a small object placed within strikes these features, the sculpture resonates - producing a clear, bell-like sound. Thus, each penguin is not only a sculptural form but also a vessel of sound, inviting the viewer to experience it both visually and acoustically.
To date, only around ten of these Singing Penguins have been created. Their making is labor-intensive and technically demanding, pursued less as a commercial venture and more as a personal challenge - a way for the artist to explore what is possible within the medium of bronze. Like his intricate bronze amulets, which also move and emit sound, these works embody the spirit of experimentation, mastery, and play that defines Jay’s practice.
Bronze Bell Sculptures by Koa Bronze (Jay Lloyd)
Height Dimension Small (70mm) Medium (95mm) & Large (100mm)
Jay Lloyd - Waiheke Island
At first glance, these bronze Singing Penguins appear playful, their rounded forms reminiscent of Jay’s closed bells. Yet behind their charming simplicity lies a deeply technical and highly innovative process that pushes the boundaries of traditional bronze casting.
In conventional sculpture, bronze is cast hollow through the lost wax process - a method that involves creating a wax model, forming a core inside, and then melting the wax away to leave a cavity for molten metal. While effective, this technique is time-intensive and limited in the variations it allows.
Instead, Jay has spent more than 35 years developing and refining a unique casting process that uses an advanced industrial sand - normally reserved for large-scale automotive and engineering production. Adapting this method to a studio practice, the artist has pioneered a way to create one-of-a-kind artworks with precision and efficiency, achieving results comparable to lost wax but in a fraction of the time.
This sand-based technique allows for the construction and alteration of internal cores in ways that would be nearly impossible with traditional methods. In the case of the Singing Penguins, the artist manipulates the inner geometry to form delicate protrusions, or "antennae," inside the bronze shell. When a small object placed within strikes these features, the sculpture resonates - producing a clear, bell-like sound. Thus, each penguin is not only a sculptural form but also a vessel of sound, inviting the viewer to experience it both visually and acoustically.
To date, only around ten of these Singing Penguins have been created. Their making is labor-intensive and technically demanding, pursued less as a commercial venture and more as a personal challenge - a way for the artist to explore what is possible within the medium of bronze. Like his intricate bronze amulets, which also move and emit sound, these works embody the spirit of experimentation, mastery, and play that defines Jay’s practice.
