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Art

Figurative Sculptures Formed From Recycled Cardboard by James Lake

Artist James Lake has used cardboard as his medium of choice for the last 20 years. The-UK based sculptor pieces together multiple layers of the recyclable material with hot glue to create free-standing  figural sculptures that are often a reflection of his own image. Lake was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 17, and began working the material after his right leg was amputated. During rehabilitation he searched for a material that could be easily accessible from his bedroom.

“I wanted a medium that can be used to sculpt beyond traditional material and without the need of an arts studio,” says Lake. “The end result was the fine crafting of an inexpensive common place and recyclable material. I manipulate cardboard into taking a form which is vastly beyond its original function as a container to transport food and commercial goods.”

Lake continues to discover the possibilities of the versatile material, and has become further interested in the value his time, effort, and care placed on the disposable packaging. Currently the artist runs art workshops in his community, providing a resource to propel sculptural artist practices in local schools and colleges. You can learn more about the cardboard sculptor and his practice in the short video below. (via Rajapack)

Art

Magnificent Cardboard Airships by Jeroen van Kesteren

Over the last year, Netherlands-based artist Jeroen van Kesteren has been toiling away at these sculptural airships as part of a series titled Orphanage for Lost Adventures. Made primarily from cardboard, aluminum foil, adhesives, and an assortment of papers used for sails and propellers, the whimsical flying machines have a distinct steampunk feel. The pieces range from 40 to 50 centimeters tall and take about a month to make. Jeroen shares additional images of the airships and several additional sculptures on Pinterest. (via Colossal Submissions)

Design Photography

The Jollylook Is a ‘Retro’ Folding Polaroid Camera Made from Recycled Cardboard

The Jollylook is a new camera concept that merges the retro form-factor of a fold out camera utilizing polaroid film, and it’s fabricated primarily from recycled cardboard. Despite the bare-bones construction the Jollylook has an adjustable aperture, lens settings for different shooting modes (landscape, portrait, group, or macro), and a crank for extracting the polaroid once the image is taken. All you have to do is load it up with commonly available Fujifilm “instax mini” instant film cartridges. The project is currently funding on Kickstarter and reached their goal in just a few hours. (via PetaPixel)

Art Craft

Ceramic Mugs That Imitate Used Cardboard by Artist Tim Kowalczyk

Ceramic artist Tim Kowalczyk is drawn to objects of little material value—crushed tin cans, ripped up cardboard, and Polaroids that have been damaged during development. It is in these typical throw aways that he finds beauty, an attraction to the history embedded in their wrinkles and folds. To memorialize these items Kowalczyk creates their likeness in clay, creating works that look exactly like mugs haphazardly formed from cardboard with “Please Handle With Care” stickers still stuck to their sides.

“Ceramic’s ability to replicate any form, texture, or surface is what draws me to the material,” says Kowalczyk in his artist statement. “Replicating real objects out of ceramic material and putting them in a tableau is my version of writing a poem. I am able to sculpt, form, design, and construct sculptures with a sense of purpose, priority, and preciousness.”

The Illinois-based artist graduated with an MFA from Illinois State University in 2011, and is the adjunct Ceramics instructor at Illinois Central in East Peoria, IL. You can see more of his work on his website or at Companion Gallery where he is represented.

Art

Drawings on Discarded Trash Left in Public Places by Artist Wenyi

Chinese artist Wenyi wanders the streets of his home in Dali, Yunnan Province, China, gathering bits of discarded cardboard to use as his canvas. Wenyi then takes the bits of trash he finds and draws the surroundings on each object. The small pieces range from quick black and white sketches to colorful drawings of entire homes, each a snapshot of his hometown. After sketching the scenery Wenyi places his completed works back into their original locations, imbuing the everyday refuse with art. “I want people to see art in our everyday life,” said Wenyi to Bored Panda, “even if it’s on wasted paper.” (via Booooooom, Bored Panda)

 

Art

New Fantastical Miniature Flying Machines Forged From Cardboard by Daniel Agdag

Melbourne-based Daniel Agdag (previously) produces fantastical models of machines as a way to explore his own daydreams of what may be lurking inside our most basic structures, the machinery kept hidden under steel or concrete. Agdag wants to draw attention to the complexity of the everyday, highlighting the gears and systems deep inside the objects that make our lives more convenient. Agdag builds these imagined contraptions from cardboard rather than metal, meticulously constructing the objects to appear much more durable than their actual materials suggest.

“Aesthetically, the driving force behind the creation of works I make stem from a need to see and imagine objects, machines and environments in a way I’d like to see them, to imagine how I think they work and expose their inner workings,” said Agdag. “All too often, the most amazing feats of human engineering are kept hidden and disguised under shiny facades or reinforced concrete.”

The flying vessels are also inspired by Agdag’s mother who migrated alone from Europe to Australia. The sculptures romanticize the feeling of being alone in the sky, unsure of what adventures may come. “I think of the airships as a vehicle to escape with, an attempt to cross a divide, to be the captain of my own journey,” said Agdag.

Agdag’s last exhibition was the group exhibition “Model Urban” at Manningham Art Gallery in Australia last fall, and he showed work with MARS Gallery at Sydney Contemporary Art Fair last September. You can see more of his detailed cardboard sculptures and in-progress works on his Instagram.