Argentine Artist Transforms Recycled Materials Into Insane Moving Sculptures

Artist. Inventor, Visionary. Tinkerer. Toymaker. Whatever title you bestow upon Guillermo Galetti, it fits. Using only recycled materials, he creates moving sculptures that delight the world. He has FUN playing with his creations, and his art will make the grumpiest grump crack a grin.

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As a child, he was known as the “Junk Thief.” In his father’s workshop, he had childhood adventures with toys he created from discarded car and airplane parts. Inspired by the environment and his father’s kindness and generosity, young Guillermo became a physical education teacher at Villa La Angostura, Patagonia, Argentina.

Using his knowledge of physical motion, blacksmithing skills, and ingenuity, Guillermo builds unique bio-mechanical moving sculptures that replicate real movement. His pieces operate by turning a crank, flipping a lever, or rolling along a flat surface to activate the mechanics.

While developing his “toys,” he felt his mission was to “find a didactic and economical way to illustrate sports movements through metallurgy.” That mission adds realistic-seeming movements like the head-banging rock star, complete with flopping locks of long hair. Slash from Guns N’ Roses shared a video featuring that innovative piece, which of course helped it go viral.

As his pile of moving sculptures grew, his wife talked him into sharing them on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those first few posts hit a chord with audiences, entertaining us as we got lost watching Guillermo “play” with his creations. His joy is infectious. His Instagram account now boasts 1.5 million followers, and he closed out 2024 by surpassing one billion views. He has a YouTube channel but doesn’t post much there.

As a physical education instructor, Guillermo focuses on creating many sports pieces. He has even recreated the iconic Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsaber battle from “Star Wars.” His moving sculptures will delight any audience.

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.