Milos Pelikan is an artist creating sculptures from recycled, reclaimed and re-purposed every day materials inspired by the industrial landscape of the west.
“I am a big believer in recycling and I bring this passion into my art by using discarded and recycled materials. I’m the guy who stops in the street to pick up a bolt that has fallen off a passing truck.”
Milos aims to challenge the viewer to think about the constructed nature of identities and how identity is constantly on the move, absorbing and recycling ideas – a bit like how the west has changed over the time he has lived here. The artworks seem to also intrigue gallery goers who like to get up as close as possible to see what they are made of.
“It’s always a surprise when they realise it’s made up of things they probably have around their homes. It’s almost a bit of a game to try and identify all the different bits and pieces.”
Milos has exhibited in the great Art in Public Places show run by Hobsons Bay Council, has regular exhibitions in galleries in inner Melbourne and is undertaking regular commissions.
“I’ve lived in the inner west now for 20 years, and love the vibrancy, activity of the suburbs and interesting artist community it has attracted. When I first moved to Yarraville in the mid-1990s it was a very sleepy community of mostly Greek and Italian families. The house we bought in Severn Street came with an orchard of olive and fruit trees … The village still had the old men’s Greek clubs and the Java café was a laundromat. The Sun Theatre was run as a film group, where you got a blanket along with your ticket and sat on hard stairs up in the roof cavity.”
His favourite places to hang out are Olive Oil & Butter, the Sun Bookshop, Pho Tam, Back Alley Sally and Footscray market
Find more of Milos’ art and upcoming exhibitions on his website: www.milospelikan.com and Instagram: @MelbWestieArt
(Photo by Alison Hoelzer Photography)
