The virtual exhibition 'Shezad Dawood: Nets' at Timothy Taylor's online viewing room (5 November – 12 December 2020) presented an edition of Hybrid I, a coral sculpture which aims to raise attention to recent climate and biodiversity research, exploring the intersection of technology and species’ ecosystems.

A specimen of Acropora loripes based on Professor Madeleine Van Oppen's experiments with hybrid coral was used as a reference for Factum's 3D artist Irene Gaumé to create a digital model, which was 3D printed in sections at Factum Arte and then cast in bronze. As per request of Shezad Dawood, both the artwork and its polyurethane base were coated in a complex combination of paints with fluorescent areas. 

The 3D model of the sculpture © Factum Arte

The 3D model of the sculpture © Factum Arte

The 3D model of the sculpture © Factum Arte

A sample of Loripes tenuis © courtesy of the artist

Detail of the primed sculpture before the addition of the fluorescent coating © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Arte

Detail of the primed sculpture before the addition of the fluorescent coating © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Arte