This larger-than-life gorilla statue is made of hundreds of recycled coat hangers. The spike-covered sculpture is just one of the unique creations by David Mach who has made an entire collection of coat hanger art projects.
The statues include a portrait of Mach's brother, an Astronaut, a "Hooker" and "Rabbit Stew!"
"The work is made up from hundreds of standard metal coathangers, welded to each other around a plastic positive later removed, and then silver nickel plated," Mach says on his site. "What does it cost to send a man into space, to make him walk on the moon? I am fascinated by the effort of that, the science, the brainpower, the sheer physical power of the rockets. Billions of dollars spent over decades, invested in the best minds, and here I am, using the cheapest, throwaway nothing object, a coathanger, to portray that."
Mach first creates a mold of the basic figurine to act as an outline which he coats in hard plastic. It's on this plastic form that he attaches the coat hangers.
"When I have ideas I want to make them, and not just some of them, but all of them," he says on his site. "As a result of that my sculpture covers a multitude of sins. I like to work in as many different materials as possible. It's no understatement to say I am a materials junkie - jumping from highly-painted realistic cast fibreglass pieces to sculpture with coathangers, to a thatched barn roof laced with fibre-optics to designs for camera obscures (or at least the buildings to house them) and layouts for parks.""
Recycled Coat Hanger Sculptures
David Mach's Wirey Art
Trend Themes
1. Recycled Art Sculptures - Creating sculptures from recycled materials provides an opportunity for eco-friendly and cost-effective art production that can appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.
2. Coat Hanger Art - Exploring the artistic potential of ubiquitous objects like coat hangers can lead to innovations in upcycling and repurposing common materials for art and design purposes.
3. Multimedia Art - Artists who experiment with using various and diverse materials, such as David Mach's use of coat hangers and fiber optic cables, can inspire new and innovative approaches to mixed media art.
Industry Implications
1. Art - The art industry can capitalize on the growing interest in eco-friendly and sustainable art by promoting and investing in artists who specialize in using recycled materials in their work.
2. Product Design - Incorporating recycled materials into product design can offer a unique selling point for companies looking to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers and create more sustainable products.
3. Sustainability - Industries focused on sustainability can benefit from innovative use of recycled materials in various applications, such as creating art or designing products, that promote a more circular economy and help reduce waste.