No, these little bugs weren’t smashed in a trash compactor. These rotund beauts are the work of Indonesian sculptor Ichwan Noor — part of his ongoing series of spherical and cube Volkswagen Beetles.
The sculptures contain both authentic and fabricated components and aren’t actual smashed cars (sorry to ruin the illusion), but rather a combination of cast metal and careful placement of the car’s most recognizable features.
So why a VW Bug? Because the so-called “people’s car” is iconic: “I see the VW Beetle as one of the most successful designs, one that people will always be familiar with,” Noor says of his choice. And given his whole body of work moves around the theme of man-made transportation, this car was the natural choice to center a collection around.
His most recent exhibition was at this month’s Art Stage Jakarta.
Noor is far from the first sculptor to twist a car to bits for his work. Probably the most famous in the medium is American artist John Chamberlain, who used crushed and welded car parts to make sculptures that echoed the aesthetic of abstract expressionist painting in America’s post-war art scene. The record at auction for one of Chamberlain’s looming, angular hunks of twisted steel? A staggering $4.7 million.
No word on a pricetag for one of Noor’s pieces, but safe to say: think big.
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