When it comes to objects that are fun to look at and experience but serve no useful purpose, you won’t find better than the works of artist Nik Ramage, the self-described “sculptor of useless machines and absurd devices.” His piece Fingers began as a one-off made in 2003 as a disembodied version of his own hand cast in iron that was mechanized to tap, drum and otherwise fidget like we all do.
The artist didn’t really have any plans to produce more than a few for galleries and display, but eventually he teamed up with Laikingland out of the UK To produce versions for sale. Almost two decades and a few versions later, the latest release of this fun and mesmerizing kinetic sculpture is now available. Like the original it’s based on, it’s made of cast iron resin, steel and the mechanical bits necessary to keep it tapping indefinitely… or at least until you have to replace the two AA batteries that power it.
