Start at Home No. 99 - Wim Delvoye

Wim Delvoye was born in 1965 in Wervik, Belgium, Europe. He is a modern artist who makes unusual and sometimes surprising artworks with unusual items. He uses challenging materials like glass, metal, and old tyres. Wim mixes everyday objects with big ideas, including religion and humour. He loves experimenting and finding creative ways to turn ordinary things into something amazing. In his “Pneu” series, he carves beautiful patterns into used tyres, turning them into detailed, lace-like sculptures. His art has been shown in famous museums and galleries around the world, including in Europe and Asia.

Wim Delvoye started his “Pneu” (French for tyre) series in the early 2000s. He takes old truck and car tyres and carefully carves beautiful patterns into them by hand, like flowers and plant like swirls. Even though tyres are usually rough and dirty, his carvings make them look soft and delicate, like lace. Wim plays with opposites—hard vs soft, dirty vs decorative. His idea is to turn ordinary objects into something surprising and beautiful, and to show how things can be both strong and decorative at the same time. Isn’t it clever how he transforms something tough and industrial like a rubber tyre into something so delicate and stunning?

Questions:

• Why might an artist use unusual materials instead of paint and paper?
• What weird or funny material would you turn into an artwork?

• Wim loves mixing fancy designs with everyday objects like shovels and gas bottles.
• He once made a machine called “Cloaca” that copies how the human body digests food—yuck but cool!
• He enjoys surprising people—his art can be funny, strange, and a little bit shocking!

1. Look around your home and collect man-made materials like bottle caps, nails, tin foil, buttons, bolts, wire… Foil oven trays (flattened carefully for cutting or shaping or embossing with adult help)
2. Make a list of natural patterns you like, such as shells, river paths, waves, tree rings, honeycomb, spider webs, leaves, branches, flower petals…
3. Choose some of your collected materials to work with.
4. Experiment by reshaping them into natural-looking forms (for example, twist tin foil into flowing lines like waves or tree rings).
5. Arrange nails or other objects on plain paper to create organic and natural patterns.
6. Adjust your design until it looks interesting and natural.
7. Take photos of your finished artwork.

Take it further

Make a 3D sculpture: Instead of working flat on paper, build a standing or hanging sculpture using wire, cardboard, and recycled materials.

• One or more of the following: Bottle caps, tin foil, foil trays, buttons, bolts, screws, washers, wire, paper clips, safety pins, straws, rubber bands…
• Optional - Nails (with adult help and supervision)
• Optional - Foil oven trays (with adult help and supervision)
• Plain paper or card for arranging artwork
• Camera or device to take photos of finished work