Self-taught artist John A. Peralta is interested in what makes things tick – the hidden machinery that make an object (or a machine) what it is. A self-proclaimed “Master of Suspense” (pun intended), he has developed over the years complicated techniques for suspension which expose the inner workings of the humble mechanical objects which surround us.
His unconventional style of sculpting incorporates mechanical objects and high-tech materials to produce astonishingly beautiful representations, which he nicknames “Mechanations.”
Having received no formal training in the arts, it wasn’t until his thirties that Peralta found his creative voice. “In 2005, while living in Hong Kong, I came across an exploded diagram of a bicycle on the back of a magazine,” he explains the inspiration for his work on his personal website. “I was inspired by its fragile beauty, and imagined a three-dimensional version with a real object.”
“The subjects I choose for the Mechanations series are icons of utility and invention,” he adds. “I also like to think they hold memories that we’ve long forgotten. They’ve watched generations pass; recorded every scene, love letter, and document. Each image, word, and note is permanently imprinted on them.”
