Artist Ichwan Noor (ICH-wahn neur) creates sculptures inspired by the Volkswagen Beetle. The Indonesian artist uses both original parts and sculpted materials to create these life-sized works that trick the eye.
To make the sculpture above, Noor created a replica of the body of a VW Beetle with a type of plastic called polyurethane. But instead of shaping it like a regular car, he bent it into a sphere. He stretched some parts of the form and folded others to create the curved surface.
Noor cast the sculpture in aluminum and painted it. He chose aluminum because automotive companies use the metal to make the bodies of many real cars. This allowed Noor to recreate the VW Beetle’s finish as accurately as possible. Finally, he added authentic details—like the wheels and door handles—from classic VW Beetles.
“This vehicle is familiar to almost everybody across the globe,” Noor says. By using traditional materials and his own innovative process, the artist transforms the recognizable into an optical illusion.