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Forts, dollhouses, or makeshift tables are the creations that I used to construct out of used cardboard boxes. Sculptor Chris Gilmour is a bit more ambitious. He takes cardboard that is slated for the recycling center and uses it to make bikes, cars, and typewriters.
“Gilmour started out using cardboard for prototypes but soon realized its potential as a material: ‘It’s very strong, you can make big things quickly, and it has a nice conceptual content: the idea of the object that was contained in the box disappearing and something now being created from the box,’” he says in an article in Make.
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His artwork showcases the human admiration for material things and delves into the psychology of waste. In his words, his work focuses on “a love of stuff,” according to the article.
With just cardboard and glue, he creates life-like (and life-sized) pieces that demonstrate not only his skill, but also the ability to create something more from a material that most people see as useless.
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“The works I am producing now are made from cardboard boxes which are still found on the street, but which show all the printing, tape, labels etc. I like the idea of concentrating on the material in its ‘natural state’ and playing with the idea of these beautiful objects represented with a material from the waste basket," he says in an interview on his website. "I guess it’s about trying to be as honest as possible with the material--I don't want it to get too clean, so you can’t see what it really is."
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