A second life for a bicycle inner tube


2020| Old bicycle inner tube | Various sizes

How can creative thinking find new meaning for things that are otherwise discarded? Old bicycle inner tubes serve as a durable resource as long as there are bicycles. That's why I choose the bicycle inner tube as my medium.

The workshop is aimed at school children and is divided into three phases. The first phase deals with deconstruction. Bicycle tubes are disassembled and cut up to create new visual representations. The second phase is about concretely changing the surface structure. Here, the artistic gaze of the participants is directed from the second to the third dimension. The previously laid-out hose now takes on an individual form. The third phase focuses on the individual implementation of ideas with the help of the methods developed so far.

Thanks to the flexibility of the bicycle tube, it can be shaped and used in many ways. For example, you can create strands from it and reassemble them with other perforated parts. No other materials are required.

The concept applies not only to bicycle inner tubes but also to other upcycling materials. This project is an inspiration for the artistic utilization of upcycling materials.