Scouring specialty fabric stores for antique materials, the Barcelona-based artist Sergio Roger seeks out delicates pieces of linen and velvet – imbued with their own histories, and which evoke the passing of time. Despite his use of unconventional materials, Roger’s works recreate altogether familiar sculptural forms (think: pillars and statuesque busts) drawing heavy inspiration from Greco-Roman traditions, and playfully rethinking iconic elements of art history in the process. His fabric sculptures are entirely unique: no two pieces are the same.

A Hellenistic invention, bust sculptures have been in production for over 2000 years, offering artisans both a cost effective and potent means to craft realistic portraits of often powerful subjects. In Roger’s own pieces, traditional materials – marble, terracotta, wax or bronze – make way for softer stretches of milky linen, mirroring the pale palette of the past. Careful details are sewn across the busts’ surfaces, from intricate waves of hair to the folded drapes of fabric, and the essential outlines of the human form.