Wall-E-esque robots? A tall bike with a dazzling disco ball?
“Skunkadelia and the Art of Welding” showcases hand-welded sculptures constructed from repurposed steel at Mobius, an artist collaborative space run by 23 artists in Central Square.
The man behind it all is Skunk (no last name). The central focus of the show is on robots that you almost expect to activate into a march around the gallery, but not in a scary rise of the machines kind of way.
A Skunk robot could be your friend like Wall-E from the Disney movie, or even a fancy toy since the smaller robots have ball and socket joints you can move around.
“To me, the robots looked like glamorous movie stars. I can’t help imagining them loving the attention. The robots are like my kids: they never turn out quite the way I intend them to be, which is fascinating,” said Skunk.
The fact that the robots are made of recycled parts adds to their friendly approachable vibe. The use of newer metal would make the sculptures more sleek and Terminator like. Rocketships, rayguns, and other figurines are also on display.
TIG welding is a difficult process, but it’s the be-all-end-all as far as welding goes. It’s how bicycle frames are created, and Skunk first learnt how to weld at local bike shops. He gets most of his used metal parts from Broadway Bicycle School in Cambridge and Bikes Not Bombs in Jamaica Plain.
At the opening reception this past Saturday, there was a tall bike decked out with a disco ball parked outside known as the “USB Cloudbuster,” the flagship of the bike gang Subversive Choppers Urban Legion (SCUL). As the “fleet admiral” and founder of SCUL, Skunk even rode over to the show on it.
“The disco ball is a symbol for SCUL. When we ride together, it let’s people on the street know we come in peace, and we are here to have fun,” said Skunk.
The closing reception of Skunk’s show is on Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Mobius. As an artist and active member of Mobius, Jane Wang helped curate “Skunkadelia and the Art of Welding.”
“I invited Skunk to do a one person show at Mobius as part of the Art of the UnGrand series both because of his awe-inspiring work and because of his strong tie to Artisan’s Asylum,” said Wang. Art of the UnGrand features different local, national and international experimental artists. Artists at Mobius curate shows, gallery sit, volunteer, clean, paint and more.
“Our official mission as a group of artists is to generate, shape and test experimental art. Most of the work is performative in nature with forays into exhibitions, participatory drawing of live performance and experimental video and film,” said Wang.
Upcoming performance art shows at Mobius include David Miller’s Low Concept: Experimental Theater opening on March 29, and Great Small Works’ miniature puppetry theater in April.
MOBIUS
55 NORFOLK ST.
CAMBRIDGE, MA
MOBIUS.ORG
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