Alex Chinneck, sculptures inspired by urban surrealism

Eccentric in terms of his mode of expression, British sculptor Alex Chinneck is particularly fond of ephemeral public works for his creations. Having graduated from the Chelsea College of Arts, member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, this cricket buff designs monumental concepts, and his installations, which always create an optical illusion, are featured around the Greater London.

Urban surrealism on the program of Alex Chinnek

For his work, he combines the disciplines of art, architecture and theater. His creations morph the daily world and immediately produce a "Wow effect", without necessarily delivering a personal message. His goal is more to surprise the public by inventing a magical universe where he inverts electrical pylons, ties up clocks and buckles up a building with a zipper.

Bordering the covered market of Covent Garden, this giant sculpture is featured on a series of Londonian postcards. © DR

Alex Chinnek does not hesitate to wring the necks of grandfather clocks and wood columns. © DR

Architectural illusions

Thanks to his playful side, English cities offer a higher cultural attractivity to tourists. But his projects don't stop there! Opening up the facade of a historical building in Milan, freezing a pine tree in a block of ice, remodelling the entrance of a covered market to make it levitate above its foundations, this scenographer definitely shakes up urban architecture.

On Southwark Street, the 7500 wax bricks of this house seem to be melting slowly. © DR

In a successful optical illusion, this building is all torn up. © DR