Functional Mad Max Bikes vs. the Motototem Art Bike
It must have been tremendous fun (and a lot of work) for Australian production designer Colin Gibson, the man tasked with designing the bikes for 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. Gibson, known for designing and building fully functional props and vehicles, worked with motocross champ Stephen Gall, stunt coordinator Guy Norris and mechanic Matt Bromley to ensure his fantastic creations could actually tear up terrain. The team produced some 47 motorcycles with eclectic designs. Bolted to the frames was everything from upholstery, mannequin parts, leather scraps, Persian rug off-cuts, chain-link fence segments, horse saddles, bird feathers, boat sails and household knick-knacks. In some cases tires were replaced with steel paddles, the better to climb sand dunes. Paint was removed, and all bikes were given a desert patina. Those bikes are technically called props. I might refer to them as art. So too might Italian artist Mattia Biagi, who often blends industrial materials with natural elements in his sculptural works. Biagi, who is also a motorcycle enthusiast, recently collaborated with Flying Flea (Royal Enfield's electric sub-brand) to re-interpret their FF-C6, an off-road electric motorcycle. Biagi didn't hold back. His resultant Motototem, unveiled at Milan Design Week, employs a tank sculpted from travertine stone. The handlebars and pegs are made of bronze (literally imprinted with Biagi's fingerprints, a bit much, some might say). The fenders are resin with dried leaves embedded during the casting process. The seat is made of sculpted Walnut. The lighting is housed in hand-blown glass forms. To be clear, Biagi hasn't cited Mad Max nor Gibson & co. as influences; it's me drawing that connecting line. And as beautiful as Biagi's creation is, I still think Gibson and his team's feats take the cake. All 47 of their bikes ran. The non-functional Motototem is purely an art piece.
It must have been tremendous fun (and a lot of work) for Australian production designer Colin Gibson, the man tasked with designing the bikes for 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. Gibson, known for designing and building fully functional props and vehicles, worked with motocross champ Stephen Gall, stunt coordinator Guy Norris and mechanic Matt Bromley to ensure his fantastic creations could actually tear up terrain.
The team produced some 47 motorcycles with eclectic designs. Bolted to the frames was everything from upholstery, mannequin parts, leather scraps, Persian rug off-cuts, chain-link fence segments, horse saddles, bird feathers, boat sails and household knick-knacks. In some cases tires were replaced with steel paddles, the better to climb sand dunes. Paint was removed, and all bikes were given a desert patina.
Those bikes are technically called props. I might refer to them as art. So too might Italian artist Mattia Biagi, who often blends industrial materials with natural elements in his sculptural works. Biagi, who is also a motorcycle enthusiast, recently collaborated with Flying Flea (Royal Enfield's electric sub-brand) to re-interpret their FF-C6, an off-road electric motorcycle.
Biagi didn't hold back. His resultant Motototem, unveiled at Milan Design Week, employs a tank sculpted from travertine stone. The handlebars and pegs are made of bronze (literally imprinted with Biagi's fingerprints, a bit much, some might say). The fenders are resin with dried leaves embedded during the casting process. The seat is made of sculpted Walnut. The lighting is housed in hand-blown glass forms.
To be clear, Biagi hasn't cited Mad Max nor Gibson & co. as influences; it's me drawing that connecting line. And as beautiful as Biagi's creation is, I still think Gibson and his team's feats take the cake. All 47 of their bikes ran. The non-functional Motototem is purely an art piece.
