At just 17-years-old, Zayd Menk is going viral with an incredible project he submitted in his art class. Taking a little over 3 months to complete, the young artist from Zimbabwe meticulously constructed a .0635:100 scale model of midtown Manhattan using recycled electronics.
It took a total of 263 hot glue sticks, 11 CPUs, 27 motherboards, 10 CRT monitor motherboards, 15 batteries, 13 floppy disk readers, 4 watches, 4 audio cards, 3 hard drives, 3 graphics cards, and 2 clocks to bring the city to life. Just what inspired the ambitious project? “Under my topic ‘Man-made’ I was already studying cities,” Menk tells My Modern Met. “I was also studying electronic waste. I’ve always thought that the tiny components on a PCBs [printed circuit boards] look like small cities, so I think It was some sort of subconscious thing that just clicked in my head.”
Menk spent hours searching Google and Wikipedia to get the heights of the buildings correct. In fact, part of the reason he selected midtown Manhattan was due to the wealth of information about its architecture readily available online. From there, he gathered parts he had laying around and began asking friends, family, and his school for parts they could spare.
The most challenging part of the project? “Cutting the motherboards into the various different pieces, I only had a hacksaw so it was quite tedious.” All that cutting paid off, with architectural icons like the Empire State Building easily recognizable in the skyline. So far, the teen has been pleasantly surprised by the attention his school project has received. “I’m absolutely ecstatic that my artwork has gained some attention. Hopefully, it will inspire other artists to come up with some creative ideas.” He hopes to continue with another iconic city in the near future, so be on the lookout.
Zayd Menk, a 17-year-old student from Zimbabwe, spent over 3 months constructing a scale model of Manhattan from recycled computer parts.
Watch the making of this incredibly innovative architectural model.
Zayd Menk: Facebook | Instagram | Flickr
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Zayd Menk.
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