Sculptor Chris Gilmour makes hyper-realistic, life-size objects out of cardboard boxes. His work is made using only glue and cardboard, with no supporting structure of wood or metal.
According to Gilmour, the idea of working with cardboard and recycled materials is tied to his work with educational projects. “Cardboard is cheap and easy to find, and using simple tools and techniques it is possible to make almost anything,” he explains on his website. “I love the challenge of working with other people to help them realize their ideas.”
The finished works create a remarkable effect where the viewer tries to reconcile the solid physical presence of well-known objects with a material that most people think of as light, weak, and only meant to be used as a container and then thrown away. But his work can also be seen as a reflection on consumerism and materialism, and as a metaphor for transience and impermanence.
“One of the reasons I am attracted by cardboard is that, although it can be an expensive material, people fail to notice it and just throw it away when buying an object, often slightly irritated at the thought of having to dispose of it,” writes Gilmour. “There is a widespread idea of having to leave our mark, of expressing our personality by buying this or that object that will best convey our originality. Almost as if the consumer society had transformed even our personalities into something you can buy.”
Take a look at some of his thought-provoking work in the gallery below:
