The American interdisciplinary artist Daniel Arsham has taken to Instagram to give the public its first glimpse of his custom 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster. Looking as if it recently emerged from a long session at the acid rain day spa, Arsham has chosen to take a decidedly non-restorative approach to this grail status two-door. Instead, heโs injected the โBonsaiโ with plenty of his signature โfuture historyโ detail โ opting for a raw, distressed look that was achieved by tapping a number of notable Japanese and American collaborators.
In the spirit of embracing โnatural age and patinaโ, Arsham worked alongside Wilhout Auto Restoration and Bridgehampton Motoring Club on the brushed metal exteriors of this Porsche 356. The carโs iconic bathtub-shaped body was composed using period-correct parts, in a colour treatment I can only really describe as resembling that of old denim rivets. But itโs the 356 cabin (traditionally, considered a very uncomfortable place to be) where Arshamโs artistic proclivities are most prominently displayed.
The iconic shell seats have been upgraded with upholstery, made in an array of textiles selected by Motofumi โPOGGYโ Kogi and Yutaka Fujihara โ two prominent voices in the Japanese fashion industry (in curation and vintage clothing respectively). The duo specified a number of textiles for this project that feeds into Arshamโs overarching exploration of all things Wabi Sabi: including denim from Okayama, Sashiko-stitched canvas and indigo-dyed boro โ a Japanese style of patchwork cloth that has long been a staple in the work of influential designers like Junya Watanabe.
RELATED: Singer All-Terrain Competition Study Reimagines The Porsche 911 Safari
Arshamโs only conspicuous flourishes assume the form of a customised licence plate and badge on the rear grille, both alluding to the โBonsaiโ moniker of the project. The latter, shaped like the eponymous miniature tree, was made by 3D-scanning an image and sculpting it in โpatinated bronzeโ โ a signature Arsham technique that the artist is famous for employing at a gigantic scale, in works such as Eroded Summer (2021). Take a walk around, in the images, of the Porsche 356 โBonsaiโ below.
