New Galaxyman sculpture shows the art of automotive recycling
Meet Galaxyman, proof that old car parts are not only recycled into new vehicles. Sometimes they are re-used in art. Built out of old items from a Ford Galaxy, including front lamps, a fuel pipeline, cooling ventilator and instrument panel pieces, Galaxyman is the newest member of a world-travelling exhibit currently on display in front of Cologne Cathedral.
The collection of 1,000 life-size sculptures made from recycled items is the work of German performance artist HA Schult. First shown in 1996, the exhibit has appeared at prominent and historic sites around the world, including the Egyptian Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, Red Square in Moscow and recently on the Grand Place in Brussels, where it was admired by approximately one million people.
According to Schult, the sculptures are illustrations of our time. "They are modern nomads, travelling around the world in 16 containers. And they are ambassadors, reminding us of the global waste problem," Schult said.
Today, vehicles are among the most recycled consumer goods in the world. Through this process, material from old vehicles, such as steel, is recycled and used in new vehicles. Used consumer products are also recycled and turned into new vehicle components. Old clothing, for example, is re-used for vehicle sound insulation. In addition, parts of old vehicles are used in other applications, such as when recycled tyres are incorporated into road surfaces.
Called "Cologne People" during their visit to the German city, the exhibit will later this year travel to New York City, Chile and finally the Antarctic. By 2007 – the end of their journey around the globe – these fascinating figures will have been positioned at 12 historically important locations.
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