Vinyl Record Art – Batman Begins

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Batman is found carved out of a vinyl record! The first piece of Cb…

One evening in December 2012, during the Christmas holidays, I returned from a long journey, morally and physically tiring. The time came to take the time, to rest a little bit. I take out the vinyl crate that left in a corner had ended up gathering dust in my absence. I randomly choose a record: Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor Op.23, legacy of my parents’ collection. I put it on the turntable, it’s scratched… Thus begins the adventure of Cb… Vinyl Record Art!

batman, recycled handmade vinyl record art

A scratched record, a second life

With the scratched vinyl now in my hands, the question arose of its usefulness. Would I throw it away like a common used tissue? It was far too precious for that. Even unplayable, it still had a lot of value to me. That’s when the story took an unexpected turn. It took a moment of inattention for me to drop the record, it falls to the ground, it breaks itself, a piece comes off. At that exact moment just when I was wondering about the usefulness of a scratched vinyl, I told myself in the process, that I would recycle and giving them a second life by transforming the records into a piece of Art!

The first test, the first sculpture on vinyl record

Batman would be the first piece of a long series! These are my first steps into the transformation of vinyl records. How to create shapes, icons, symbols from this very special material? The first tool that comes into my hands: a woodburning tool. I’m starting, I hand carve my very first vinyl. The technique is hesitant or chaotic. This first draft will not be so conclusive, but the result is there. The idea that had germinated in my head will continue to make its way to get me where I am today. And this is just the beginning!

To follow the evolution of my work and to find out about my latest projects, I invite you to visit my Gallery of handmade vinyl records art.

As a reminder, all the records I use are unplayable. I recycle them and carve out my designs only by hand, no laser cutting.