Bronze Act

Cape Town sculptor Nic Bladen casts unique botanicals into bronze, creating artworks he hopes will last as fossils into the future

- TUDOR CARADOC-DAVIES

Meet the Artist

Who: Nic Bladen, botanical sculptor

What: Organic sculptures of indigenous botanicals cast in bronze and sterling silver 

Where: Simon's Town, South Africa

'Somehow the orchid fraternity got hold of me?' It sounds like a plot twist in a floral conspiracy novel, but this was perhaps the turning point in sculptor Nic Bladen's career. From making a living creating jewellery (which admittedly was very well received), Nic was asked by the president of the local orchid society if he would cast a few whole orchids in bronze.

A former dental technician, Nic had learned about bronze sculpture under the watchful eye of Jan-Otto du Plessis at Bronze Age Foundry before going on his own. He'd been struggling along when the orchid request came.

'One day I cast a flower and that was it. Light-bulb moment. I'm casting at 0.3 mm, but I am also casting tree stumps. It's a marriage of the disciplines.

The orchid job successfully executed, the penny dropped about how beautiful organic matter casting can be and Nic embarked on a botanical path that has taken him to where he is today, exhibiting in the Everard Read Gallery in both London and across South Africa and with a workshop in a heritage building in Simon's Town.