Photo credit: Jeremy Mayer
Jeremy Mayer has always been fascinated by the typewriter, and he spends countless hours rummaging for these vintage objects at flea markets and thrift stores. Once he does find one, he quickly snags it and then fully disassembles it, before turning the machine into something entirely new, whether they be robots to birds or even giant human figures. Sometimes, he creates an initial sketch to establish the general layout of new pieces, but the rest of the build process relies on how the parts fit together. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
This may sound like a tedious process, but it also results in plenty of spontaneity that makes each piece unique and unlike any others. Despite using old typewriters for all of his sculptures, he makes sure that the typewriters being used are not in perfect working condition, which means they’re preserved in their original state, thus the memories embedded in each one and its many parts stay intact.
“I’ve been making full-scale, anatomically correct human figures and other stuff from typewriter parts (100% typewriter parts and nothing else) for about 20 years. I don’t solder, glue, weld, or wire them together. Just assembly. Not easy. Takes forever,” said Mayer.
