Balancing the Sacred and the Profane with @freehandprofit To...

http://bit.ly/1xzY7ZL





http://bit.ly/1xzYaEM





http://bit.ly/1xzY7ZP





http://bit.ly/1xzY7ZS





http://bit.ly/1xzY8g8

Balancing the Sacred and the Profane with @freehandprofit

To see more sneaker gas masks and original artwork from Gary Lockwood, follow @freehandprofit on Instagram.

Los Angeles-based artist Gary Lockwood (@freehandprofit) takes the meaning of “sneakerhead” to a whole new level. His gas mask creations each begin with the destruction of a coveted pair of sneakers, which he then reassembles into a unique wearable art piece. “Each mask I create is one of a kind,” says Gary. “I’ll never use the same shoe twice.”

Gary created his first sneaker gas mask shortly after graduating art school in 2010 and is now almost finished with his 100th mask. His designs are inspired by his teenage years wearing respirators as a young graffiti artist, and his lifelong passion for hip-hop music. “I developed an outlook through hip-hop that attempts to balance the commercial and the conscious, the sacred and profane, the struggle and the success,” he says.

These concepts around duality are central in Gary’s art. The sneakers are sacred expressions of style, joy and culture. Yet the gas masks, in stark contrast, represent the struggle, pain and fear of reality. “We don’t live in two worlds—one of opulence and pride, or one of poverty and despair,” he says. “It’s the same place and we should be aware and embrace both.”

by via Instagram Blog