Australian artist Sean E. Avery collects old CDs, which most people would call trash, and transforms them into shimmering sculptures. To make this rat, he cut the discs into small shapes using kitchen scissors. Then he attached the shards to a wire mesh armature, or frame, using hot glue. Avery painted and attached a toy snake to create the tail.
Although the sculpture looks sharp, Avery says it isn’t. “I hardly cut myself,” the artist says. “But I do burn myself a lot,” he explains, referring to the hot glue.
“I started making CD sculptures when I was 16,” Avery says. That was more than 20 years ago. Since then, he’s used thousands of CDs in his elaborate sculptures. In addition to being an artist, Avery is a writer and a teacher. “Do and commit to the things that inspire you and you’ll never live with regret,” he says.