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Artist Creates "Future Fossils" from Once-Loved, Now-Outdated Technology

We often associate fossils with the dinosaurs, but artist Jeff Klarin has a different idea of what's considered a relic. Working under the name Bughouse, he has created Future Fossils, a collection of sculptures that showcase once-loved yet now-outdated technological devices. Among them are the iconic boombox, Polaroid camera, and Atari joystick.

All of Klarin's Future Fossils are objects and tools that were once widely-used and/or historically important. Now, thanks to the artist's clever treatment, these items look weathered and distressed, as if they've recently been excavated from deep beneath the Earth. They serve as a reminder that time is fleeting in the world of technology–rapid advancements, in as little as 15 or 20 years, cause devices to become obsolete, making them artifacts of another era.

To create these sculptures, Klarin cast the items using cement. He then manipulated their surfaces by hand to give them an aged appearance. Because of this laborious process, each piece has its own variations and unique characteristics. To own your own future fossil, they are available to purchase through the Bughouse website.

Bughouse: Website | Facebook | Twitter

All photos by Eugene Kim / My Modern Met.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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