Is it a bird...?
...a sea anemone...?
...an alien...?
...a millipede...?
...or a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture?
No, they are all examples of Jason Hackenwerth's balloon art.
Jason, 38, spends £6,000 per year on multi-coloured balloons for
his incredible sculptures, which he displays around the
world
His massive artworks are based on various insects, sea creatures -
and even human anatomy
It was Jason's mother, who worked as a clown, who taught him the
art of balloon twisting
He began with simple animals and hats to make a crust as a street
performer but by the time he graduated from art college he had
grander ideas in mind
"I used to travel the New York subway every day and it was so
bleak," said Jason. "I wanted to find a way to cheer it up down
there so I started making balloon shapes and sneaking down in the
middle of the night to hang them up"
When people saw them their faces would light up so I decided this
was the medium I would like to work in"
Jason has made sculptures of epic scale – one piece was over 46
foot long and made of over 4,000 balloons
"I used to blow them all up with my mouth," he says. "But I'm a bit
smarter now so I use a machine"
He exhibits his work on commission and sells it to private
collectors for up to £4,000 a time