One of my favourite characters in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series is Davy Jones. A true villain in every sense of the word but also fragile. The scene where he plays his organ on the Flying Dutchman references his past of a betrayed lover in a rare emotional outburst. I had to capture this moment.
The scene as a whole is in Jones's private quarters in the stern of his ship framed with a large window with a plethora of pipes that encircle his organ. I decided just to make the organ, attaching pipes and of course Davy Jones. I did not want to detract from the important part of the scene, Jones and the organ. I designed a sea-themed base in the shape of a shell, which matched the curve of the organ as well as drawing the eye from the rug towards Jones.
As the scene is very gritty, and beige, I wanted to add splashes of colour whilst keeping the sense of the scene intact. I added various amounts of sea coral to give the scene a bit more detail. This included barnacles, mussels, coral, sea cucumbers, crabs, seaweed, shells, molluscs and starfish.
I also was looking to add hidden storyline references for beady-eyed viewers. This included Jones's key around his neck dangling down as he played the organ, the matching musical locket open to the side, the white crabs that Jack Sparrow sees underneath the bench, and the liar's dice set cast onto the floor.
The framework of the organ was made using wood, the pipes were made from different-sized dowelling and the wave details were sculpted with an epoxy putty on top of carved wood and foam. I hand-painted the mural onto a cotton canvas and varnished it.
Davy Jones was sculpted out of various polymer clays, over a wire and foil armature.
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