Facing Glory

Facing glory is a piece of facial prosthetic sculpture, designed for the war veterans to wear as a badge of honor. It was inspired by my experience of meeting a medic in Ethiopia, who was a part of a team that focuses on facial reconstruction, on soldiers with bullet wounds to the face. Many of the soldiers were participants in peacekeeping operations, but their service can often be ignored. Unfortunately, even when the victim’s life is saved, the damage to function and aesthetics is often permanent, which can lead to stigmatization.

The audiences might notice the sculpture was designed with Ethiopian culture in mind. Which have a very rich history of architecture and art. Many of the details are inspired by traditional stone carvings. So the prosthetics can have a medallion like property. They also are made to have magnets in them, so the users can replace different top layers and decors for different occasions. In this case, specially sized medals and ribbons are worn with pride for a ceremony, where people can easily recognize their services.

To ensure anatomical accuracy, the BME students have provided a 3D scanned skull, which is used to create a damaged skull. The refilling piece was created separately in 3D modeling software, and was 3D printed along with the other skull parts.