Tomorrows Fossil

Willem Lenssinck

Willem noticed a gearbox lying at his neighbor's shed. It was from a Chevrolet 8-cylinder pickup truck with front and rear-wheel drive. He didn't know why, but its shape immediately brought the Komodo dragon to mind. These two forms, he felt, would create a magnificent sculpture together. After considerable effort, Willem was allowed to purchase the gearbox for 500 guilders. All its components were removed. The gearbox was cleaned and then sandblasted. Modec, a company from Venlo, scanned both the gearbox and a Komodo dragon at Naturalis in Leiden. The two components were digitally combined, and the result was a perfect match, especially due to the shape and posture of the dragon. The tail, however, Willem had to model himself. The title stems from a look into the future. Electric cars no longer have a gearbox. Once only electric vehicles exist, the gearbox will become a fossil, much like the Komodo dragon is one of the last living fossils from Jurassic Park, though it should actually have been extinct already. Detail: the pedestal resembles a large fuel tank. However, it also needed a fuel cap. Volkswagen proved to have the most aesthetically pleasing one, which was then mounted a day before the Louwman Museum exhibition. The cap also reads: Fossile Fuel Only.

130 x 299 x 108 cm

Polyurethane, wood & steel

2015

This sculpture was unveiled for the first time during the exhibition at the Louwman Museum.