The Shattered Elephant Theme

The “Shattered Elephant” theme stands out as one of the most striking concepts for conservation. These magnificent creatures, despite their size and strength, are terribly vulnerable to modern weapons and the brutality and greed of humanity.

Origins of the Idea

We first developed this idea when invited to explore themes for glass artworks for the Uhuru Gardens Museum Complex. This ambitious architectural project, both huge and exciting, is nearing completion but has been stalled for the past few years. The original concept presented to us didn’t work as a glass project—it was entirely impractical—so we began rethinking what might.

Our initial panels stood about 90cm high. We modeled them in clay, then turned them into “investment moulds” that could be fired in our large studio kiln. These early works were three “float glass” panels—normal window glass, but over 20mm thick. We shared them with the museum’s committee, and they sparked a decision to commission two panels on the conservation theme, focusing on the elephant. We took the three moulds and cast them together, then placed sheets of float glass, normal window glass, on top of the mould and fused it in the kiln. Float glass always has a green tinge, how strong depends on the manufacturer or even the individual batch of glass.The transparent panels are made using Bullseye Glass.

Developing the Shattered Elephant

We also fused a panel using “Bullseye Glass.” Unlike float glass, it has no green tinge and stays very transparent, though it’s far more expensive. Eventually, we were commissioned by the museum to create a large version of the “Shattered Elephant” concept as one of two panels. We based this sculpture on a famous tusker named Satao. The piece went through four development stages before we crafted the final mould. In 2021, we fused the elephant part, but as the project has since slipped into stasis, we have not completed the full panel as envisaged. we have continued to develop the theme finding other methods of expression. the last slide in the sequence shows a glass panel that we recently fused. we had created the mould in March 2024 but did not fire it until Frbruary 2025.it relates directly tomthe first watercolour slide in thecsequence in the waynthat it brings the concept to a logical solution. Protect these beautiful creatures or lose them.

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Thank you for your interest in the Shattered Elephant!