clem chen inserts taxidermy molds into bike seat sculptures

clem chen inserts taxidermy molds into bike seat sculptures
all images courtesy of clem chen

listed as a finalist for a recent designboom competition, the ‘ASIA AWARDS 2013′ conducted in collaboration with DA – japan design association NPO, the ‘bike seat sculptures’ by canadian designer clem chen transform the recycled bicycle pieces into animate works of art. appropriately titled, ‘bite it’ and ‘pink eye’ the customized fittings were made by carving out openings and inserting plastic-cast taxidermy molds into them. featuring a snarling mouth and creepy eye, the parts are held together with construction adhesive and 2-part epoxy glue, making the intimidating look durable, with additional sculpting done using epoxy putty. achieving an intimidatingly real-life look, details were painted in acrylic, while the body was given a matte-black spray finish.  

the works were originally made for the ‘saddle-up!’ show at the hot art wet city gallery in vancouver, BC, where local artists were given used bike seats, donated by pedal to be modified and reinterpreted.

a plastic-cast taxidermy mold is carved into the ‘bite it’ bike seat

the reclaimed bike seat was modified into a piece of art

the ‘pink eye’ bike seat

the features were painted using acrylic and the body given a matte-black spray finish

 
detail of the ‘pink eye’ bike seat