Type: Public sculpture commission
Year: 2010–2012
Commissioned by: Antamina Mining Company and Asociación Ancash
Location: Ancash, Peru — exhibited nationally
Scale: 7 life-size sculptures, 1.5 to 5 metres in length
Reach: 6 exhibition venues, visited by over one million people
PROJECT STATEMENT
During the construction of a road connecting Antamina Mining Company’s camp to Conococha in the Peruvian Andes, fossilised footprints and bone remains were discovered in the rock strata, estimated at 125 million years old. The find represented species never before recorded in Peru, several of them new to science entirely. Antamina and Asociación Ancash commissioned an educational sculpture project to bring these discoveries to the public, combining palaeontological research with art and community outreach.
Arturo Laime was engaged as lead sculptor and project co-ordinator, responsible for directing the creation of seven life-size sculptures based on the fossil record. Working alongside a team of artists and skilled resin specialists, Laime oversaw the entire production process; from interpreting the palaeontologists’ scientific models into three-dimensional form, to fabrication, surface detailing and final painting of each piece.
SCULPTURES
Seven species were represented, ranging from 1.5 to 5 metres in length and up to 4 metres in height:
Sauropod · Ornithopod · Carnosaurus · Pliosaurus · Ichthyosaurus · Miolanid Turtle · Mesosuchia Crocodile
Materials: fibreglass and resin over structural support framework.
Following its premiere at the Archaeological Museum of Huaraz, the exhibition travelled to six venues across Peru: Museo Nacional Chavín, Chimbote, Parque Central de Miraflores (Lima), and Parque de la Amistad (Lima). The sculptures were designed for a single installation but Laime accompanied each tour stop to restore, repaint and reinstall the pieces for each new venue. The project was documented by History Channel’s IRT Deadliest Roads during the transport of the sculptures across the Peruvian Andes. Over the course of the travelling exhibition, the Peruvian Dinosaurs were visited by more than one million people.
Available for institutional commissions.