Before taking off to Singapore for FOI4, I had the idea to create something for the performance using bones. Only the idea had occurred to me only days before my flight. I had no idea how long it takes to clean and dry bones. Anyhow, I will use the bones for an upcoming project.

Below are post-machinated calf bones drying on my patio. Maybe one more month of drying to go. In Vietnam you can purchase a whole calf carcass (sans meat and head) from a restaurant for 30,000d/$2 a kilo. I settled for about 10 kgs. I didn't have an animal killed, I basically bought material that would have gone to the trash. I hired my neighbors to separate the carcass and boil overnight to remove as much remaining meat as possible. Then it takes about two weeks of machination in a barrel of water for the bacteria to clean of the non-bone stuff. As the bacteria consumes the material, grease rises to the top. Dump the water in the garden and refill every couple of days. I'm currently having them sun-bake on my patio for another month or so to dehydrate and harden.

As macabre as it may seem, the forms and design of how each fit together to form a structure is simply beautiful.