If there is one metal on earth which can be as versatile as being a chosen material for aircraft as well as a piece of art, it is none other than aluminium. Aluminium is an artist’s delight because of its lightweight, superior malleability, easy machining and excellent corrosion resistance.
Aluminium is the signature material for British-born, Hong Kong-based designer Michael Young who has been working with aluminium using his innovative technique that is transforming molten aluminium into precious objects. Using his brilliant technique he has already created a wide range of lighting, chairs and other furnishings in aluminium. Going a step further, he has now found a new way to create a cheese like foamy texture for aluminium and design a series of lightweight furniture out of it.
To explain it in layman’s language, Young has developed a set of steel tools in order to inject high-temperature gas into molten aluminium which would create a perforated texture in the metal similar to that of Swiss cheese. The process is similar to that of a witch’s cauldron, complete with bubbling potions and psychedelic colours. These submerging and bubbling finally result in large foam like block of aluminium.
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Once cooled, the perforated block is ready for second stage of fabrication that is done in a factory that manufactures mobile-phone cases. Colours like blue or gold is added in this stage and are embedded in the exposed surfaces of the metal. What finally emerges out of these processes is Young’s Metal Rock Collection. The 120-kg BC Chair in the picture is a product that perfectly embodies his industrial-art ethos and symbolizes the versatility of this amazing metal.
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