28 Mac 2012

Rubber sculptures are the wheel deal

Artworks made from nothing but old tyres

Recycled art ... rhinoceros-type creature
Recycled art ... rhinoceros-type creature
SWNS
Last Updated: 28th March 2012

Imaginative Yong Ho Ji salvages rubber for his designs from old cars he finds at scrap yards.

He then spends months cutting each tyre into thin strips before moulding them together into models of animals, with some standing more than 5ft tall.

One of his scary sculptures is a huge rhinoceros-type beast, complete with an enormous horn.

Another of his creations is a huge lion rearing up on its hind legs, while one sculpture is a Minotaur, a creature from ancient Greek myth.

Yong Ho, from Korea, told how he had the idea of making models from tyres after visiting his local scrap yard to find parts for his car.

Cat's nice ... sculpture of a lion
Cat's nice ... sculpture of a lion
SWNS

He explained: "Because of their rubbery nature, tyres can be cut, bent, and manipulated into many different forms and shapes. The flexibility and the strength of tyres drew me to them.

"Every artist has their own medium they work best in and for me it's definitely old tyres. You could say I'm burning rubber."

Minotaur madness ... sculpture of mythological creature
Minotaur madness ... sculpture of mythological creature
SWNS

He uses up to 50 different tyres on a single sculpture, with each artwork taking anywhere from a few weeks to several months to finish.

He added: "Many people tell me that they are frightened by my works. But the truth is that our society is already familiar with freakish things.

Incredible artwork ... model monster
Incredible artwork ... model monster
SWNS

"Take genetic engineering and environmental pollution for example.

"There have been cases where eating genetically modified food could have caused strange, unexplainable diseases: babies born with two heads, and a lab mouse with a human ear growing on its back."

Isn't it rubbery ... model made from used tyres
Isn't it rubbery ... model made from used tyres

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