Hubcap Creatures - Interview with Eco-designer and Sculptor, PTOLEMY, Brighton U.K.
| | E.A.R.: The juxtaposition of something that is generally seen as ecologically unsound, into nature art sculptures - apart from the obvious, what's your thought or artistic statement here?
PTOLEMY: There is the one school of thought that homo sapiens is an abnormal species that is rapidly changing the planet, irrevocably for the worst. Alternatively we are an integral part of the continuing evolvement of the globe. My sympathies lie with the former but I can’t ignore the latter. Although I’ve taken what is essentially an artificial material and mimicked a natural form, the process embodies the cyclic nature of life. It’s not my intention to illustrate this idea with my work, merely as an observational aside it has relevance.
E.A.R.: Here we have the transformation of metals involved with human movement and speed, now sculptured into something slower or still. Is your art saying something about the movement of the natural world? The reconstruction of metals back to their naturalistic forms?
PTOLEMY: Not metals: plastics. The only movement relevant is purely the physical which I’ve been trying to capture. | E.A.R.: Originally the majority of your sculptures were marine life, now you are expanding to other subjects. What creatures have you done so far? How far and large do you think you will go? Are you going to do humans?
PTOLEMY:I pretty much follow the stream, and at first it took me along the fish route (no pun intended back there) inspired by the shapes and qualities of the raw material. It’s such a huge, varied and fascinating world underwater I could probably focus entirely on one species throughout my life and still feel I haven’t done it justice. I often do repeats of particular creatures. Not replications though. This is usually because I love the form and also occasionally to substitute a piece that I’m particularly fond of when it’s been sold. Other things I’ve made have included a couple of dog commissions, a number of insects, (though I confess to deliberately avoiding the insect world because I wouldn’t have enough time in a dozen lifetimes to cover that fascinating and fabulous subject) and a variety of birds: an albatross commission, a puffin, and several penguins among them. I’ve also recently completed a saxophone commission as my first sally into the inanimate world with hubcaps.
PTOLEMY: Previously I've made a great many bizarre lights, airplanes and various models all out of found or donated junk. Humans? I confess to being somewhat uneasy at the prospect of a commission of a portrait. I guess it might happen one day and I'm up for the challenge, but it would easily be the most difficult thing I could attempt. I once negotiated a commission involving a couple of torsos in a compromising position for a fetish shop display, but sadly nothing came of it. (No pun intended there either!) - Incidentally, my earliest intention relating to the collection of roadside hubcaps was in order to make a suit of armour, something I haven't got round to yet. | 
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 | E.A.R.: How do you cope with these high tensile constructions? They must be pretty tough materials to manipulate. What are your tools? (Plasma burners etc.)
PTOLEMY: Wow! Plasma burners! What are they? I’m in the middle-ages as regards my choice of tools. Apart from a cordless drill, the only things I use are hacksaws, pliers, a craft knife and a file. Occasionally I incorporate thick Perspex in a design, then I use a jig-saw to cut out the shapes. I started with a hand cranked drill but not only was it awkward to hold, my front teeth started to crack up as I had to grip the handle in my mouth. I guess the vibrations weren’t doing me any good. My hands suffer. After a long day they ache and I have to be kind to them. I’ve suffered many cuts over the years but I’m getting better at self- preservation. I strongly advise you not to drill under your own thumbnail. It hurts.
E.A.R.: Any problems with health & safety? Isn't brake dust Carcogenic?
PTOLEMY: Yeah that black stuff is nasty. I try to keep the dust down to a minimum: washing with surgical gloves; cleaning up regularly etc, but we all take various risks in life, and I think that there must be some equation somewhere that proves less risk equals less fun.
E.A.R.: Have you used lorry tyre pieces? (jumbo sized hubs?) What's the strangest material you used so far?
PTOLEMY: I’ve got a couple of coach hubcaps but they aren’t really suitable for what I do. I guess the oddest thing I’ve made so far, barring the obvious full hubcap menagerie, is a 4 foot tornado jet made out of old vacuum cleaners, mostly dysons. It’s got a couple of electric motors in it for that authentic ‘taking off’ sound. | E.A.R.: I Do you get any issues with car companies or trade marks (BMW, Ford?) Have you ever approached Japanese companies as clients or sponsors for your work? (e.g. Honda, Toyota?)
PTOLEMY: No logo issues so far. The way I see it is I’m inadvertently advertising car products in a non-derogatory way so I guess they’ve no cause for complaint. If it did happen then at least there’d be a bit of publicity for me! I’ve made a commission for a car showroom in the past, but as far as getting involved with promoting large companies….that’s not likely to be an option for me. Because of the nature of big business: shareholders; profit fixation; product manufacture/source relocation; there isn’t much room for ethical considerations unless it’s currently fashionable to be ‘green’. I’ve been approached by a couple of car companies, and also an advertising agency with ‘one of the major car manufacturers’ as their client but I turned them down. The idea of my work dancing about on a T.V. screen selling a car fills me with horror. Also advertising, largely based on instilling low self-esteem to encourage buyers, isn’t something I wish to be a part of either.
But I’m lucky. I don’t have any dependants or mortgage to worry about so I can afford to be high-minded. A couple of my friends have ventured criticisms on my appearing in a couple of car trade magazines, and that showroom commission - they maintain that if not actively promoting a product, I’m still advocating something that I basically disapprove of - but I disagree on that point and so it sits ok with me.
E.A.R.: Your sculptures ultimately look very futuristic; they have the image of organic cyber-robots - is it intentional, or unavoidable?
PTOLEMY: It’s just a byproduct of the materials I use. Initially it led me to favour forms that sat more comfortably with the whole silver shiny thing, but as I became more comfortable with my abilities so I diversified. I’ve made a few ‘inside out’ creatures, and though considerably scruffier, they seem to work quite well.
E.A.R.: Would you say any parts of your own lifestyle are matching your art? are you ecological too?
PTOLEMY: I try to be. I do the re-cycling thing, and I used to use a bicycle as my main mode of transport until back problems waylaid me. Part of the reason I do what I do is because of ethical/ecological reasons. I was very intrigued with the use and re use of waste material when I spent a year traveling in India. It was on my return to the UK after that trip that I began to seriously focus on ‘waste’ as a sculptural medium and to consider the nature of what we decide is valuable. I also like to bang on about waste and our misdirected attitudes to value whenever I get a chance. I’ve appeared on a few children’s TV programs waving my hubcap fish about and hassling kids to think about waste. It gives me a big buzz to be able to have that platform and that audience.
E.A.R.: What with the amount of tyre mountains, and roadside type dumps, ever considered rubber moulding as a matching artistic sideline?
PTOLEMY: Ooh, I’d have to learn a whole new skill base for that. Maybe in another lifetime???
E.A.R.: Thanks Ptolemy for the interview. Keep up the good eco-work!
Questions compiled by Derek Conlon & Mirai.
WEBSITE LINK:
(www.hubcapcreatures.com)
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