"Hello (...) this is Bastian Hoffmann, and I’m contacting you regarding an art project of mine. It involves shredding a Porsche Cayenne (...) In my efforts to find out how to shred a vehicle in one go, I became aware of ARJES and its machines some time ago".
ARJES, a supplier and manufacturer of industrial shredders, received an interesting email a few months ago, with a very uncommon request. A German artist wanted to shred a Porsche Cayenne SUV to create materials for his latest bold vision.
The company said that they didn’t have to do too much thinking on the matter, and excitedly agreed to support the young Cologne artist’s project.
Bastian Hoffmann is a German artist who creates sculptures and videos using natural and common materials such as stone, wood, water, and metal to create works that he says "challenge our expectations in a playful and minimalist way". He studied at the Cologne Academy of Media Arts and the Arts Academy of Düsseldorf and his works have already been featured in exhibitions from Germany to the U.S.
So, how did we get to shredding a Porsche?
Hoffman had come up with his latest project, astutely titled "How to turn a Porsche into a painting". He wanted to turn a luxury car into a painting while recording the whole process to make a DIY tutorial so that viewers can do it themselves. (If you're really into DIY, I might suggest calling up your local scrap yard for the materials instead of buying a luxury car. I promise that people won't know the difference once it's a painting.)
ARJES' TITAN 950 shredder was designated for this Porsche-shredding task. However, this wasn't as easy of a task as it seemed since the wide SUV almost didn’t even fit into the shredder’s large hopper. But alas, Hoffmann and his film team were determined and excited to get in on the action at the ARJES test site.
The company stated that the noise of the 550PS shredder was absolutely deafening (I hope everyone was wearing their ear plugs) as the Porsche was torn piece by piece into smaller and smaller parts by the opposite-turning shredding shafts. All that remained when the TITAN 950 was done was just 2 tons of metal, rubber, and plastic.
Hoffmann and his team were impressed that the Porsche, once a symbol of luxury and status, had been reduced to a pile of trash. The body, frame, engine, transmission, tires, suspensions, and all the other components that made a car, were all piled into a scrap heap. No luxury to be seen anywhere.
However, Hoffmann doesn't see it as trash; he will use it to create the colors for a large painting, "telling the story of the Cayenne in a totally unique way". The painting will be on his website (www.bastian-hoffmann.com) soon as well as on his Instagram (_bastianhoffmann). Exhibitions are already being planned, which will also be announced through the channels mentioned.
"It was a great pleasure to work with and support this emerging artist in realizing his extraordinary vision. We are excited to see the final result of "How to turn a Porsche into a painting", and are certain that, with our TITAN 950, we have had the opportunity to participate in the creation of a true masterpiece," the company said.