The age of physical media is slowly waning, and with it comes a tide of suddenly useless storage devices and discs. Instead of leaving them for the landfill, Australian artist Sean Avery uses old and shattered CDs to create incredibly beautiful and life-like animal sculptures. It’s a means of creating what he calls sustainable art, and as you’ll quickly realize, his work looks anything but trashy.
Sean creates a wide range of animals, from birds right through to polar bear cubs, and all of them were created using only shattered CDs, glue, and a simple wire frame to give them shape and structure for attaching the broken bits of CDs. How Sean manages to use such simple recycled materials to create such detailed renderings, I couldn’t fathom. The creatures look almost soft and naturally furry, in spite of the material they’re made from. The hard plastic is anything but soft, and yet the many tiny shards take on a fur-like appearance in large numbers.
Shattered CD Animals
The feathers on this Spoonbill look like more deadly renditions of the real thing. Where real feathers are light and soft, these look sharp and deadly. I would not want to mess with this bird. She has golden feet, and a golden beak; obviously she’s killed hundreds of people and stolen their gold fillings to create such fanciful armor.
I’m getting a real David Bowie vibe from this one for some reason. I think it must be the lighting bolt, or the perhaps just the color choices. They remind me a bit of how David Bowie would have painted his face way back when.
I don’t know about you guys, but my first impression was of one cracked out owl. He’s either had a very late night, or he’s been on one hell of a bender. Never have I seen a creature with such dilated eyes. His wobbly positioning on the branch is also suspect.
This mythical creature called a “Fleeple” looks like one of the animals from Pokemon, that terrible game that children obsessed over in the 90s. I like how he’s ready in a hugging position to embrace anyone who comes past. Given his spike covered body, that may not end well for the recipient.
This is the polar bear cub, and by far the cutest of the bunch. I’m a real fan of the colors on this one, as they look both cold and aquatic at the same time. Probably not pleasant for the bear, but certainly pleasing to the eye.
More Information on Sean Avery
Sean Avery is an Australian sculpture, writer, and all out bad-ass artist. When he isn’t creating these fantastic sustainable sculptures, he’s busy creating children’s books featuring what I believe are incredibly terrifying characters, especially for a person viewing them while intoxicated. As you’ll see on his website, the characters are cute to the point of being suspicious, and my bet is on some crazy shit going down during the course of the books – the type of thing that children might not pick up on, but parents would.
You’ll find plenty more shattered CD sculptures and other bits of work on Sean Avery’s website.
So creative!