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Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Art Installation “Cocolishi”
Sculptor Gilbert Senchi is known as an avant-garde Aruban artist whose massive iron and bronze installations and offbeat works have been commissioned by the Aruban government to enhance public spaces and commissioned to create gifts for the Dutch royal family.
Dedicated to promoting local culture and art, Ewald Biemans, owner and CEO of the Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort commissioned Mr. Senchi to create a sculpture for the newly built lobby. Mr. Biemans brought Mr. Senschi a treasured conch shell which he has always prized as one nature’s perfect sculptures, found within the hotel’s namesake location, to provide inspiration.
The Conch Symbolism in history:
Local native tribes have welcomed early explorers with the sounds from shell trumpets. This historic message of hospitality is communicated to our visitors, symbolized by the serene welcome sound of the seashell.
The seashell provided as the model for this project is referred to as ‘Cocolishi’ in Papiamento and was found off the South West Coast of Aruba in front of the airport, on a nearby reef island called ‘Bucuti.’
The oversized shell sculpture has a functional design allowing a person to sit in it and listen to the relaxing sea breeze much like when you hold a shell to your ear in order to hear the ocean. The rough design outside symbolizes the past, the polished inside symbolizes the present and the spiral symbolizes future and growth.
Production
Mr. Senchi began by creating a small-scale model and proceeded to sculpture the full-size model in clay. This is followed by a plaster cast of the clay model which allowed for a wax version to be made. The wax version was needed for the foundry using an ancient sand technique. After welding and grinding, he finalized it with a patina color and lacquered coatings. The final process was the waxing, polishing and detailing of the work.
The sculpture is made of pure bronze and weighs 880 pounds. Bronze has been gifted historically as a symbol of noble service provided by hospitable people.