I’ve always admired the dragon made of recycled hubcaps that adorns the wall above the entrance desk at the Westy, my local arts and music centre. To my delight, the last time I visited to see a show, Ptolemy Elrington, the creator of the hubcap dragon was exhibiting his recycled creations there.
In my opinion, this is the most creative possible use of discarded hubcaps. Saves them from decorating the side of the road or just ending up in landfill. Ptolemy says:
Hubcaps, for instance. Aesthetic in purpose but ultimately of very little use. They’re automatically rubbish when on the side of the road, but with a little effort and imagination I transform them into something which gives people a great deal more pleasure.
My fish try to say things about our wasteful society and about our prejudices towards value. Hopefully they will encourage people to reconsider before they discard something which apparently has no purpose.
Here are a couple of my favourite recycled hubcap works of art:
Visit hubcapcreatures.com to see more of Ptolemy’s fascinating creations.