Master illusionist Thomas Deininger reveals how he changes junk into lifelike sculptures
Thomas Deininger's works have gone viral on Instagram. He sat down with Yahoo News to discuss his remarkable process of creation.
Plastic household junk, broken Barbies and twisted action figures are being transformed into sculptures by a master illusionist and sold to international collectors. Videos of Thomas Deininger’s lifelike sculptures of birds, insects and fish have gone viral on Instagram — a clip showing how his falcon head was constructed out of waste has clocked up over half a million likes.
If you want to buy an original, his works take time so you'll need to be both patient and willing to cough up between US $12,000 (A$18,000) and $50,000 (A$75,000). When you look at the beautifully intricate design that goes into each work its mesmerising.
Speaking with Yahoo News from his Rhode Island farm, Deininger explained the very personal process he uses to create and what's driving his obsession. When he finds the motivation to venture away from his home, finding new components always consumes his mind, which he admits can frustrate those around him.
“It's very bizarre. I haven't always done it,” he explained.
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How many pieces of junk has Deininger collected?
Deininger abandoned a career as a representational painter and embraced upcycling because of a need to do something about humankind’s ever-worsening destruction of the environment. He became aware of the problem after visiting Australia 30 years ago, something he details in the video below.
Using our never-ending stream of waste to create something new helps quell the “gut sickness” that's an effect of his depression at the collapse of the natural world.
“I don’t think we’re alarmed enough. Everyone's not alarmed enough, enough of the time, is my fear. We should all be petrified and willing to do whatever it takes,” he said.
The animals that inspire Deininger's work are those that live on his farm — rescued goats, chickens and horses — or wild birds, insects and fish.
While he prefers to be outdoors — surfing and kiteboarding have been antidotes to his dyslexia and ADHD since he was a boy — he spends hours in his studio cataloguing hundreds of thousands of items.
“I spend a lot of time at the beach when stuff washes up, and I see things in parking lots… I have this catalogue in my head, of things that might work to make something. So I collect incredible amounts of stuff,” he said.
“I will see stuff and think that would make a good wing. You start seeing bits and pieces [that could make] beaks and tail feathers… it’s almost like a crossword puzzle, but it’s materials.”
How long does each work take?
It takes Deininger around a week to get a sculpture 90 per cent completed, refining the final product can take four times as long.
“I go out in the world and sometimes I won’t come back [to the work] for a month. I’ll keep collecting, and put it in a little box. Sometimes there'll be full rebuilds in order to do something a little better — it might be in more economical use of the material. Or, I’ll think you know what, this would make a better beak,” he said.
His idea of a perfect piece accomplishes three things:
The first is an illusion from a single point.
The second occurs when the viewer steps to the side and the work breaks down into a geometric or an abstract display.
The final reveal is often a controversial scene between the action figures or Barbies — sometimes something bizarre, a sex act, or violence.
How does Deininger picture his work?
As he’s glueing, drilling, wiring and pinning pieces of worthless plastic into complex art forms, Deininger thinks of Rumpelstiltskin the mischievous German fairy tale character who spun straw into gold. Because that's how he sees his own work.
“If I can cobble this detritus together — I call it post-consumer compost — then upcycle it and sell it for thousands of dollars, I feel like I’m helping the process somehow,” he said.
“There’s a little bit of a punk quality to it, that wealthy collectors are paying lots of money for junk basically. It just has to be in the right form.”
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