Vanitas: a Portrayal of Human degeneration

Apollo, god of light, he who knows the occult, he who has building skills, owner of the bow and music. Today, mankind has developed a god-like persona. with its knowledge, it's bow string, symbol of militancy, has been stretched more than ever. Yet instead of reaching a prosperous and peaceful present from its past, we find ourselves in a present marred by conflict and decay. Mold, symbol of degeneration creeps over Apollo's face, settling upon his brain, symbol of human thought, as a testament to our declining dignity. Darkness has taken hold, consuming what little remains of our once-great civilization.

Stone Sculpture with Various Fungus grown over it.

Size:
63x40x30cm
Materials:
Herat Marble, Afghanistan Red Onyx, Iranian Pink Onyx, Iranian Green Onyx, Black Marble, Resin, Various Fungus (Aspergillus flavus, Acremonium, penicillium digitatum, Gliocladium), Cotton, Threads

About the Project:
I started this artwork as a Digital concept, I created the scene in ZBrush and rendered in 3ds max. and then with my friend Mohsen Zare used CNC milling. then the hand sculpting and final details were done, I created the parts separately and attached them together. for the fungus parts I Faced many errors and failures, wrong colors, problem of fixing the fungus, etc. But the thing that kept me going was that I saw that life is growing on a stone, thanks to Ms.Rokni, the Mycologist who helped me to create a pipeline for developing and fixing the fungus. Sara tehraninia Helped to create a structure and base under the fungus with so they can hold still. It was a really challenging yet amazing experiment for me, and the Sculpture that you're seeing is the first ever Stone sculpture with fungus grown over it. Thanks to Nima Ghari for the Photograph and the videography.