These Incredible Animal Sculptures Give Old, Discarded Hubcaps A New Purpose

When it comes to making art, people always find ways of making even mundane objects into something beautiful. Not too long ago, we looked at an artist who made sculptures from reclaimed tires. Today, we’re focusing at someone who also takes inspiration from the automotive world.

U.K.-based sculptor Ptolemy Erlington has collected and worked with hubcaps since 1997. After teaching himself to use a mig welder (no small feat), he began crafting the old hubcaps into animal sculptures. We actually showcased his work earlier this year, but Erlington is a prolific artist and has some new pieces.

Erlington finds most of his hubcaps on the side of the road, where they’ve fallen or been discarded. He doesn’t mind if they’re a bit banged-up, either. “I believe these marks add texture and history to the creatures they decorate,” he says. The logos on the hubcaps are also worked into the designs, frequently taking prominent places in the sculptures, such as in the eyes.

The hubcaps must be altered, of course, to go from their disk shape to more organic shapes. Regardless, Erlington still likes his material to be recognizable. To do this, he found that scale matters. “If you go too small, you lose the materials’ identity and if you go too big, it looks remarkable like a pile of hubcaps. I’ve made a few large scale hubcap sculptures and I’ve struggled a bit with that.”

Besides hubcaps, Erlington also uses other scrap metals to create pieces of art. His work outside of the hubcap animals ranges in scale, subject, and material.

You can see Erlington’s work on his website, and keep up to date with his latest projects on Twitter and Facebook.

(Via My Modern Met)