The Mercedes CLA is known as a style rebel, pushing the boundaries of automotive design and the way we look at a four-door vehicle. And while Mercedes has impressed the world with the four-door mini coupe, they didn’t stop at the design – they’ve continued to push the boundaries of marketing with the CLA-Class as well. Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi was recently commissioned to sculpt the Mercedes CLA using a floating sheet technique that has become Onishi’s signature.
Speaking about his CLA sculpture, Onishi stated that “until now my works of art have been reminiscent of mountains, but this time I wanted to use a more materialistic object as the basis for my sculpture. Normally I stack cardboard boxes and cover them with a polyethylene film that is suspended in mid-air on sheer threads. Afterwards the boxes are removed and the film stays where it was. The CLA has something organic about it, a natural, aerodynamic shape that allows it to offer the air little resistance.”
In order to create his version of the CLA, Onishi spends five days filling a hot glue gun with black glue sticks, then uses it to cover fishing line that is connected to a sheet covering the Mercedes. Once the process is completed, the car that had been raised up is lowered, while the sheet remains in place and leaves behind only a silhouette.
