Artist to unveil tractor sculptures at Tent London 2012 design exhibition

July 4, 2012 - PRLog -- The sculptures, MF TE 2255557 01 (sculptural coffee table) and MF TE 2255557 02 (wall piece), have been manufactured from recycled engineering components, sourced from the remains of a vintage Massey Ferguson tractor. Their construction involved the careful deconstruction of the seized up and rusted machine before cleaning, shaping and welding each component into place to create a contemporary and intricate form. Each piece has been coated with a protective finish to preserve the aged surfaces of the pieces, the titles of which refer to the serial number of the machine from which they were constructed.

Inspired by a similar work made whilst upon an artist residency in Cambodia in 2004, Toby’s original piece was manufactured from destroyed weapon parts, as part of a project working with Cambodian students to turn decommissioned AK47s, remnants of the Khmer Rouge regime, into marketable sculpture and furniture.

Toby says: “Following my work in Cambodia, these new pieces have been manufactured within the context of the UK. The tractor is a machine which has played an important role in our agricultural and industrial heritage, and to deconstruct and re-assemble it into the form of a functional item of furniture and sculptural wall piece has been both challenging and fascinating. In working with these parts I have rediscovered the beauty within engineering, with each piece being itself worked into a new composition to restore it as an essential component with an entirely different purpose.”

It was upon wrestling with tractor parts and toying with function and aesthetics that inspiration struck for the artist’s third sculpture, which will be unveiled at the show’s opening on September 20th. Crafted from wood and metal, his as yet untitled piece is based upon the imagined response of an item of furniture when subjected to a compressive force. The deformed result robs the object of its former functionality, thus turning it into a sculpture which exudes strength and defies the conventional behaviour of the materials used.

For more information, visit www.tobypoolman.co.uk or visit stand number H09 at Tent London 2012.