This work features neatly arranged computer printed circuit boards. Upon closer inspection, you might notice that the electronic components' arrangement and shape seem familiar. That's because this work recreates the streets of Manhattan, New York, using computer electronic components. It was created by Zayd Menk, a 17-year-old high school student attending St. John's College in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, South Africa.
This work was created at a scale of 0.0635:100. The project began with meticulous calculations of the proportions. He relentlessly collected information on the size and angles of Manhattan's buildings from various online databases, then applied the information to the set proportions and repeatedly performed calculations. After the calculations, they cut up the electronic parts they had gathered and made them resemble the shape of an actual building. Once they had adjusted the shape, they attached them to the base with hot glue and gradually completed the building. "The hardest part was that the only tool we had to cut the electronic parts was a hacksaw," she said cheerfully, her comment being very endearing.
In fact, this project was launched as part of a school course. The topic of the course was "man-made," or artificial objects. Having previously studied cities and recently begun learning about electronic component waste, he came up with the idea of combining the two. He says he has always thought that printed circuit boards resemble small cityscapes. The project took about three months, from the end of June to the end of September 2017. He presented the work at school and uploaded it to social media, where it quickly became a hot topic. When I asked Menk if he had plans to create more works like this, he said he did. We can't wait to see what kind of city he will create next, or perhaps something completely different, using electronic components.
*This article has been translated and written with permission from (Source: https://www.instagram.com/zaydmenk/, https://wirelessbiscuits.wixsite.com/zaydmenk).
This work was created at a scale of 0.0635:100. The project began with meticulous calculations of the proportions. He relentlessly collected information on the size and angles of Manhattan's buildings from various online databases, then applied the information to the set proportions and repeatedly performed calculations. After the calculations, they cut up the electronic parts they had gathered and made them resemble the shape of an actual building. Once they had adjusted the shape, they attached them to the base with hot glue and gradually completed the building. "The hardest part was that the only tool we had to cut the electronic parts was a hacksaw," she said cheerfully, her comment being very endearing. In fact, this project was launched as part of a school course. The topic of the course was "man-made," or artificial objects. Having previously studied cities and recently begun learning about electronic component waste, he came up with the idea of combining the two. He says he has always thought that printed circuit boards resemble small cityscapes. The project took about three months, from the end of June to the end of September 2017. He presented the work at school and uploaded it to social media, where it quickly became a hot topic. When I asked Menk if he had plans to create more works like this, he said he did. We can't wait to see what kind of city he will create next, or perhaps something completely different, using electronic components.
*This article has been translated and written with permission from (Source: https://www.instagram.com/zaydmenk/, https://wirelessbiscuits.wixsite.com/zaydmenk).
