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, he’s injected the ‘Bonsai’ with plenty of his signature ‘future history’ detail – opting for a raw, distressed look that was achieved by tapping a number of notable Japanese and American collaborators.
In the spirit of embracing “natural age and patina”, Arsham worked alongside Wilhout Auto Restoration and Bridgehampton Motoring Club on the brushed metal exteriors of this Porsche 356. The car’s 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 it’s the 356 cabin (traditionally, considered a very uncomfortable place to be) where Arsham’s artistic proclivities are most prominently displayed.
The iconic shell seats have been upgraded with upholstery, made in an array of textiles selected by Motofumi ‘POGGY’ Kogi and Yutaka Fujihara – 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 Arsham’s overarching exploration of all things Wabi Sabi: including denim from Okayama, Sashiko-stitched canvas and indigo-dyed boro – a Japanese style of patchwork cloth that has long been a staple in the work of influential designers like Junya Watanabe.
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Arsham’s only conspicuous flourishes assume the form of a customised licence plate and badge on the rear grille, both alluding to the ‘Bonsai’ moniker of the project. The latter, shaped like the eponymous miniature tree, was made by 3D-scanning an image and sculpting it in “patinated bronze” – 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 ‘Bonsai’ below.
