crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar

ferdi b dick’s animal sculptures feature an open mouth and extended tongue in different crystal colors.

Ferdi B Dick edited by christina vergopoulou September 30, 2026 4 min

the Roar recurs across Ferdi B Dick’s animal sculptures

South African-born sculptor Ferdi B Dick builds many of his animal sculptures around a recurring gesture: an open mouth with an extended tongue, capturing the form of a roar. Rather than representing aggression, Dick connects the gesture to release and exhalation, drawing a parallel with Simhasana, the lion’s breath in yoga practice.

The motif appears throughout his practice at different scales, from mirror-polished stainless-steel public sculptures to gallery works and cast crystal. In Embrace the Amazing Whale, the gesture takes the form of an 8-meter-tall public sculpture on the waterfront of Zhanjiang, China, installed in December 2023. Lion Roar brought the same language to gallery-scale works at Everard Read in Johannesburg in 2023.

Crystal Roar translates the gesture into a smaller and more fragile material form. The series includes Dragon Roar, Lion Roar, Bunnie Roar, and Ellie Roar. Each sculpture begins as a digital model developed using the same tools employed for Dick’s large-scale public works before being cast in crystal through the lost-wax process.

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 1 — lion, elephant and rabbit sculptures from the Crystal Roar series in multiple cast crystal colorways | all images ©Ferdi B Dick

Crystal, color, and light define each sculptural form

Metal oxides are introduced during casting to produce different colors, with each requiring a specific firing temperature. Once cast, the sculptures are cut, ground, sandblasted, and polished by hand. The crystal alters the way each form interacts with light: violet carries and catches light differently from amber, while darker crystal absorbs it. The material gives the sculptures a combination of weight and fragility.

The Crystal Roar works form part of a broader sculptural language that moves between monumental public works, gallery pieces, and smaller collector sculptures. While the scale changes, the recurring gesture remains.

Artist Ferdi B Dick studied 3D animation and ran an animation studio in Cape Town for 20 years before turning to sculpture full-time. He is now based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with public sculptures installed in Taiyuan, Zhanjiang, and Guangzhou, China.

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 2 — Bunnie Roar Crystal in blue, showing the frosted translucent surface of the work

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 3 — Ellie Roar Crystal shown in multiple cast crystal colorways

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 4 — Bunnie Roar Crystal shown at two scales, from a hand-held sculpture to a larger version

ferdi-b-dick-animal-sculptures-crystal-colors-roar-designboom-1800-2 — a selection from the Crystal Roar series bringing together a family group of different animals

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 5 — Bunnie Roar Crystal in amber cast crystal

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 6 — Ellie Roar Crystal elephants in amber; color is introduced during casting using metal oxides

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 7 — Dragon Roar Crystal in amber-green frosted crystal, part of the wider Crystal Roar series

ferdi-b-dick-animal-sculptures-crystal-colors-roar-designboom-1800-3 — Lion Roar Crystal in amber, photographed with smoke to echo the series’ idea of breath and release

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 8 — Dragon Roar Crystal, a hand-finished cast crystal sculpture from the Crystal Roar series

crystal animal sculptures freeze the open-mouthed gesture of a roar - 9 — Dragon Roar Crystal during hand finishing and polishing after casting

project info:

name: Crystal Roar
artist: Ferdi B Dick | @ferdibdick

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