Junk Art Air Max 2011

Gabriel Dishaw has constructed the very symbol of decadence out of recycled electronic waste, creating something beautiful. Over the years he’s constructed over 19 sculptures of shoes out of various discarded parts of electronic equipment. His art form, “junk art”, found its way to him in the 9^th grade when a teacher listed it as one of the choices for potential projects. Since then, Dishaw has been consistently making sculptures from recycled parts.

His aim is to encourage people to find a new use for electronics. He balks at an age of technology that so readily discards old devices. Cell phones are made specifically to only last a few years so that consumers will replace them and PCs which used to cost fortunes and were seen as nearly unattainable devices are now easily chucked into the trash heap. He wants to inspire people to find new use for “old” technology, and he acknowledges that it will take a lot of creativity.

He mostly used discarded computer, adding machines, or typewriter parts to create the colorful works of art that often resemble mosaics. Even the shoe box for this particular piece is made from an old typewriter case. The whole project took him about 3 weeks and he’s already at the start of another one.