New Artworks in Recycled Carbon in collaboration with Cracking Art and Whiteblood Foundation

Art driving toward circular economy

‘Art leads us with kindness and passion, through high technology, towards new exemplary beauties of circular economy’

Dr. Eng. Sergio Durante presents new artworks  made on recycled carbon fibres in collaboration with Cracking Art and the Whiteblood Foundation

26 April 2022

The link between Technology and Sustainability that has always accompanied Durante industries strategy, married the Cracking Art philosophy, in an even more intense commitment.

Today we need to work by minimizing waste, reducing the environmental impact, following the Circular Economy, creating new models of production and consumption that involves sharing, lending, reuse, repair, reconditioning and recycling of existing materials and products for as long as possible.

This pushes the artistic collective towards the use of the second life of some high-performance materials.

 

The message of Durante and Cracking Art is now even stronger and sees the launch of a new super exclusive collection of limited-edition Artworks in Recycled Carbon.

PLASTIC AND CARBON: A COMMON ORIGIN

Just like Plastic, Carbon also sees its origin from oil.

Acrylonitrile is, in fact, a chemical produced through a complex oil-based process on an industrial scale. The fibers are obtained from synthetic chemical compounds derived from coal and petroleum reduced to filaments of various lengths.

Among the characteristics of carbon fiber stand out the high mechanical strength, lightness, thermal insulation capacity, resistance to temperature changes and to the effect of chemicals.

RECYCLED CARBON AND ARTWORKS

The process of creation of the Artworks in recycled carbon fiber is particularly complex, both in terms of materials, know-how and handwork skills; it is in fact carried out by gifted specialised personnel that follows the process in its entirety, from the realization of the components to the operations of recovery of the fibers and, together with the collaboration of the artists , works in the creation of Artworks in limited edition.

 

FROM CATALYTIC CRACKING TO A PHYSICAL RUPTURE.

The term Cracking Art comes from the English verb “to crack” and describes the act of breaking, collapsing. With the name of catalytic cracking is also called the chemical reaction that transforms crude oil into plastic: for the Artists this is the moment when the natural becomes artificial, the organic is transformed into synthetic, and it is this process that they intend to represent through their art.

Similar process happens with the recycled carbon fibres, where the end-of-life components are reduced to their original basic materials through a complex process.

Every sculpture is unique and special because it comes from a physical break,  from the piece of a car, the wing of an airplane, or from the mast of a competition boat, to cite some examples.

Each piece is totally handmade, supervised at each stage and customized. Starting from the material of origin and the artistic flair that intervenes from time to time, we witness the birth of a modern Prometheus that through its uniqueness becomes the vehicle of a powerful message.

THE PENGUIN, THE FIRST ARTWORK

The first artwork is the famous Cracking Art Penguin, chosen for its strong symbolism: it is a social animal whose survival is linked to the problem of global warming and the consequent melting of the ice.

The Penguin, a much-loved animal but constantly endangered, reminds us of the fundamental commitment to reduce CO2 emissions.

The material that composes it comes from a Porsche Prototype race car.

The Penguin in recycled carbon is a limited edition artwork realised in 8 copies, signed and numbered.

49 x 48 x 120 cm
19,2 x 18,8 x 47,2 in

THE CAR DONOR OF THE CARBON FIBRES

This car has a rich history of events and emotions.

Born as a road sports car in 1999 it was acquired by Ing. Sergio Durante after a few years of life in traffic, to be transformed into a race car for ice rallies and uphill races.

The original body has been completely rebuilt in carbon fiber to drastically reduce the weight, essential in ice racing, the enhanced engine and all internal parts modified for the safety of drivers. The car has distinguished itself with results of extreme value.

It participated and succeeed in famous endurance races such as the Ronde Hinvernale. It competed also in the 12Hours on Ice, in France on famous circuits such as Serre Chevalier, winning events, and shone in the Ice Series on the Italian and Austrian Alps. During the summer season it won the famous European Mountain Championship of Cesana Sestriere three times in a row in its extreme category.

The most stressed pieces, such as the bumpers and the rear wing were disassembled and subjected to the process of recovering carbon fibers, and then reused in the creation of an iconic animal such as the penguin Cracking Art.

links:

www.crackingart.com

www.whiteblood.org

Carbon Penguin