Daniel Agdag’s whimsical flying machines made of cardboard and glue

Australian filmmaker Daniel Agdag is also a talented sculptor who preferences a decidedly minimalist material palette. Based in Melbourne, the artist builds whimsical flying machines with nothing but cardboard and glue — and they “only” take a month or two to make.

Inspired by the metaphor of flight as a means of escape, Agdag painstakingly glues pieces of cardboard together to create sculptures of an essence that Leonardo da Vinci might have embraced.

Eschewing modern equipment such as CNC routers or 3D printers that are all the rage in the art and design world, Agdag carves his pieces using nothing more than a scalpel.

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“The work examines the over-engineering of simple tasks with intricate technologies, and subtly hints at the modern culture of persistent surveillance and abject disregard for preservation of beautiful histories,” writes MARS Gallery, where Agdag’s suite of six flying machines called The Principles of Aerodynamics is currently on view.

The artist describes his process as “sketching with cardboard” since he works completely unaided by any kind of blueprint or digital tools.

“There’s actually a running theme to it all,” Agdag tells the Sydney Morning Herald.

“They all have little suitcases – to sum it up, these are all my attempts to escape and all the suitcases represent my baggage and all of these devices will hopefully take flight with that baggage aboard.”

You can catch a glimpse of Agdag’s work  at the MARS gallery on James Street in Melbourne until the end of August, 2014.