The weird and wonderful world of Steampunk art

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(22 Jun 2019) LEAD IN:
There is a saying that goes "one man's trash is another man's treasure."
Well in Russia, one steampunk enthusisist and artist is turning discarded items into unique and eye catching sculptures.
STORYLINE:
Striking sculptures of flies, lizards and chameleons on show in Moscow.
Among the colourful and weird sculptures , a wild boar that goes by the name of Corruption.
"It has greedy red eyes, paws like a Wolverine, a body of a hyena, its stomach is filled with money, its name is Corruption and it is ready to attack," says Siberian artist Igor Shevchenko, whose works merge of technology and art.
Steampunk is a genre of science fiction, that usually features steam-powered futuristic technology.
Shevchenko's muse is the steampunk aficionado, French Author Jules Verne.
Formerly a glassblower by trade, Shevchenko has no technical background and stumbled across this new passion by chance.
He began making his metal artworks around 4 years ago after he came across a bucket of car parts.
Not wishing for them to go to waste he, "decided to make something of them, some kind of technological things, beautiful things. And so I made my first work, compared to these ones it was quite primitive and since then I have been very very thoroughly into this business."
He tends to combine automotive waste with rare antique items.
Each creature has its own name and character.
The wings and tail of this bird are made of old cupronickel spoons and move as thought they are flying.
And this fish has a flexible body that can bend both sides, as though, "it is made as a real fish."
Shevchenko spares no details.
Underneath, if you look closely, tiny metal balls in a cylinder cage are this metal sawfish contraption's spawn.
A year ago, Shevchenko was asked to exhibit his pieces.
His works are currently on display at Moscow's Artplay Centre as part of a bigger exhibition titled the 'Incredible Worlds of Jules Verne'.
The curators were captivated by Shevchenko's sculptures likeness to French Author Jules Verne's steampunk fantasy machinery depicted in his novels.
There are over 20 figurines in the collection, attracting the eyes of passers-by.
The exhibition's producer, Valeria Savitsky, explains, "we use to display them openly for all people visiting so that everybody could touch them, spin and play. But it ended up with people, taking them apart, because they like, and especially children like to see how it works. So people started to pick it open, so we had to close it for a bit and let people in under the supervision of a guide so that they could rotate and twist it, and see it closely."
Despite the intricate detailing, Shevchenko pieces are true works of the imagination.
"This work is all about jazz and improvisation, I find something, I am driven by something, and then it goes on and on and on, and the work is embodied, this is how it is done."
To produce one figurine it can take a month, sometimes up to a half a year.
As he grows in experience, the sculptures become more and more sophisticated.
Flea markets are a rich source of spare parts.
Anything can trigger the sculptor's inspiration, for example, this metal cutter:
"From here you can start it. It is really a beautiful thing. I would cut it somehow, would fix it somewhere on a head like a crest. It is of good thickness too," says the artist.
High-grade metals are used too - silver, copper, bronze.
Above all, Shevchenko believes items deserve a second life:
"This is all done by people, and (think) how much time they spent on it, and how thoroughly they did it. Such things must be given a second life."
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