Chris is an amazing artist in the fact that he creates life-size  sculptures of everyday objects, ranging from a small things like a typewriter to large things like a Fiat 500 car, using cardboard and glue only. Although, we've featured his sculptures on our blog before, but we couldn't resist learning more about his art and the artist himself.

What is amazing is that the sculptures have no hidden supporting structures or metallic reinforcements. Though schooled in conventional forms of sculpting like stone carving, casting etc. he developed his own style of making sculptures using cardboard over a period of time, through a process of experimentation. His art is painstakingly detailed, as is apparent when you see the bike and  the engine of the Fiat 500.

We had a chance to talk to Chris and find out more about this compelling art-form. Catch the interview below:



Chris, let us start with an introduction to yourself for our readers.


I have been working as a sculptor for most of my adult life ands I'm best known for making hyper realistic objects made entirely out of cardboard


What led you to choosing sculpting as an art-form and since when have you been sculpting?

I’ve always preferred sculpture. I studied stone carving, metal work and bronze casting, but I found myself becoming more and more fascinated by cardboard and paper. The work with cardboard is a series of techniques I have invented over the years and the fruit of a lot of experimentation. It’s not really a technique they teach you at art school.


Can you share with us what was it that led you to use cardboard and glue as the medium for your sculptures?

I studied sculpture at university, so I’ve got a background in traditional sculpture techniques, but my artwork is based on a series of techniques I’ve developed over the years, but mostly the cardboard is just cut and folded. All the pieces are made with just cardboard and glue- there is no wood or metal structure inside. A lot of the work which goes into the sculptures lies in thinking how to make them, and make sure that they will survive over time. For example it took me nearly three years to find a way to make the bikes stand up. Recent work is based on classical statues and making these is more ‘fluid’. There is more room to play with the material, although they call for a more expressive use of a material which can be quite tough to use.

Bike

Does the use of cardboard have anything to do with the fact that cardboard is readily available and that it can be recycled too?

One of the reasons I am attracted by cardboard is its resonance as a material and its ubiquity, almost as if it was a natural material like wood or stone. It is everywhere around us but often 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. By using cardboard I can suggest looking at things in a slightly different way, or with more attention, and the sculptures both call attention to the objects themselves (you can easily imagine yourself typing on the typewriter for example) as well as the material they are made from.

Typewriter

Take our readers through the creative journey that you undertake from the moment that you select an object to sculpt to having the sculpture ready to be put on display.

I'm usually  preparing projects while I’m making a new piece. The research before making sculptures  is very long, it can even take a few years to collect all the information, photos and measurements, so I’ll often be collecting material at the same time as actually making works.

In terms of daily routine? I get woken up early, take the kids to school and tend to get to the studio at about 10 or 11ish in the morning, put on coffee, make a start… I used to listen to long wave radio to get English language programs, but now I tend to listen to podcasts and cds. I usually finish between 6 O’clock and midnight, depending on how much work I need to get done, have a beer, go home… It varies a lot depending on how much work I’ve got on, so there’s no fixed timetable.


Your sculptures are predominantly that of objects that are associated with motion. Is there a specific reason for that?

There has been a progression in the choice of objects portrayed, which go from smaller domestic items (like the moka or the typewriter) to objects which are larger and belong to a broader cultural context (the Fiat 500, the Lambretta). However, the reason for the choice of objects has always been pretty much the same- they call up memories and emotions connected to our experience of these (everyday) things. Since this is both a visual and conceptual work I choose objects for their visual appeal and cultural resonance, but I also usually choose objects which imply an action or interaction of some sort.

Lambretta

Fiat 500

What is your favourite amongst all the sculptures that you have done so far and why?

The sculptures I make are all very realistic, they provoke a strange kind of short circuit in the viewer- they seem to be real and people want to interact with them, but of course they aren’t: you can’t open the door or turn on the motor. People always want to touch them- I think my favorite example of this was with a wheelchair that was in a show in Milan. The wheelchair is a more disturbing object than, say, a guitar or a bike and nobody wanted to get too close, apart from one elderly gentleman who was so taken with the work that he couldn’t resist trying it… of course the moment he sat on it (and it broke to pieces) the illusion was shattered. It was the end of that piece, but it’s nice to get people so enchanted with the work.

Wheelchair

What are the projects that you are working on right now? What future projects do you have in the pipeline?

The pieces I am working on at the moment are statues- I'm currently working on a series of religious statues which started with the Saint George that was at the museum of arts and design. They are made with cardboard, but using a slightly different technique. It allows me to make human figures and animals with much more fluidity and I am enjoying the challenges of making things which are not dependant on a blue print. I'm also working on some new "realistic" pieces for a show in NY in May.

Black Horse

Drums

How do you spend your free time? Share with your favourite artists, books, music, movies, blogs and websites.

You've seen the work, do you really think I have free time?


What is the one most important piece of advice that you would like to give to budding Artists?

Keep going and try to enjoy it.


Thank you Chris, for taking the time for this interview. :) We love your work and wish you the very best for the future. 


You can see all of Chris' creations on his website.