Sculptor Breathes New Life Into Thousands of Scrap Metal Parts

Discarded materials find new life in the art of Brian Mock. The Oregon-based creative collects scrap metal parts like screws, nuts, and bolts and fuses them together to create striking metal sculptures of different animals. Bears, dogs, cats, and many more are reimagined as futuristic life-size statues.

What makes these pieces so mesmerizing to look at is that Mock's handiwork is completely evident even in the finished product. In fact, these sculptures encourage viewers to look closer, so that they can see the hundreds, if not thousands of individual pieces that were welded together. This approach also gives Mock's artwork a unique style that is both realistic in terms of size and shape, but also somewhat surreal in its finish and texture.

Dogs are among his most popular subjects, and Mock demonstrates his understanding of animal behavior by creating sculptures in a variety of poses. Some canines are depicted mid-run with a tennis ball in their mouth, while others are sitting expectantly like they are begging for attention. Mock has also tackled his share of challenging projects, like a 6-foot-long lion. In this case, he manipulated numerous pieces of metal to mimic the texture of an impressive mane. The uncanny blend of unorthodox materials and meticulous realism is a head-turner in every sculpture.

Scroll down to check out some of Mock’s scrap metal sculptures and keep up to date with the artist's latest work by following him on Instagram.