Oscar – The Giant Steel Moai Head

Artist Statement

From the creative mind of our founder comes the latest masterpiece: Oscar, a giant steel Moai head sculpture. This piece quite literally spoke to John P. in a dream one night—though we have no idea what substance caused that vision. Upon waking, he declared, “I’m gonna build a giant metal Moai.“

3D Model

Making of the Piece

Oscar stands at an impressive 10 feet tall and is constructed entirely from 10-gauge steel, weighing approximately 1,500 pounds. The design process was extensive, using a technique called planar decomposition, which converts a 3D model into flat planes. This 3D model took weeks to perfect.

Once the design was complete, each of the panels had to be laser cut from sheet steel. The CNC laser required over 400 square feet of material to cut the 78 unique patterns that form the head.

During fabrication, all 78 distinct panels were meticulously seam welded to form the head. All in, the amount of continuous welding to build the 10′ tall sculpture would stretch the length of two football fields! The sculpture also features internal cross bracing for additional strength.

Oscar includes an opening at the bottom for interior maintenance if ever required. There are four mounting tabs on the base for secure bolting and a hidden 1-inch mounting position on the top for an eye bolt to facilitate lifting and positioning the sculpture.

The assembly and welding took more than a week, followed by nearly two weeks of surface grinding to smooth and blend all the welds, resulting in a seamless and polished finish.

If you’d like to purchase a Moai head, or a few, feel free to contact us for more information. If you’d like to commission John P. for a modified version, or something completely different just reach out and we’ll see what we can squeeze out of his crazy brain!