Trumpet & Peep

Artist Jason Hackenwerth has turned a children's party trick of twisting balloons together to form animal shapes into an art form by creating highly complex sculptures. Article by Murray Wardrop Photo by BNPS. TheTamshee likes this: click on title link for more colourful sculptures
The American artist has created a portfolio of inflatable works using ordinary party balloons, which resemble menacing deep sea creatures. Mr Hackenwerth spends up to three days building each piece by inflating the balloons and twisting them together to make the unusual shapes. Balloon twisting sculptures by Jason Hackenwerth
Some of his designs are so big and ambitious that the 39-year-old has to "wrestle" the balloons into place – his largest sculpture was over 40ft long. Mr Hackenwerth, from New York, gets through so many balloons that he has to buy them in bulk, ordering 5,000 at a time. He started using balloons for his art after becoming skilled in using them as a street performer during his university years. He said: "I spend lots of time sketching and planning the sculptures I make. The ideas come from all over. "Actually building the sculptures is very difficult and labour intensive work. I sometimes use thousands of balloons." Jason builds the sculptures by simply twisting the balloons together and then photographs them on beaches and in forests. He added: "I wouldn't say I set out to make underwater creatures but that's what people seem to see in them most often." "I repeat the form and add more inner structure and pull the shape in or out. "There's a kinship between this and the process of the shells sea creatures form."