'No. 117: 5Lab3 Iron Man Helmet Mask and Gauntlet'
[Credit: @freehandprofit]
In M. Night Shayamalan's late '90s thriller The Sixth Sense, a young boy with a supernatural talent for seeing something that others can't whispers the now-famous phrase: "I see dead people." Similarly, and almost just as astonishingly, the San Francisco-based artist Freehand Profit has revealed — by way of his senses shattering artwork — his own preternatural gift for seeing in the seams and folds of athletic shoes what no mere mortals can: he sees superheroes.
[Credit: @freehandprofit]
Not only does the curiously monikered Freehand Profit (born Gary Lockwood) see comic book superheroes. He sees the faces of anime heroines, the helmets of Star Wars shock troops, the heads of robots and sci-fi inspired gas masks. But it’s his production of wares based on the Marvel Comics character War Machine — forged from the deconstructed husks of pairs of Air Jordans — that gives the most fitting glimpse into another dimension we never guessed existed.
The world of Freehand Profit is a realm of an imagination gone buck wild, where the contemporary subcultures of comic book geeks, hip-hop heads, cosplayers (costumed role-players) and sneaker freaks collide. It's a world where the stylish, logo-branded future is right now and where lowbrow fan art is the highest art. Best of all, it's a world where our materialism can become creative fodder for a recycling program unlike anything the world has ever seen.
'No. 117: 5Lab3 Iron Man Helmet Mask (Profile)'
[Credit: @freehandprofit]
Embracing The Past, Present And Future
This sneaker mask spotlighted here is the 117th such piece in a senses-shattering series of masks produced by Freehand Profit using the leather and rubber of high-end sneakers. The artist says that he’s always found himself intrigued by masks, whether those used in the ancient rituals of various cultures or those donned by crime fighting superheroes. And Tony Stark, the wealthy industrialist of Marvel Comics' Iron Man comics provides a rich source for mining.
In the comics, the War Machine armor created by Tony Stark first made a brief cameo appearance in the closing pages of Iron Man #281 (June 1992). The armor was made to be used by Tony's friend Captain James Rhodes, who has appeared wearing the suit not only in comics, but in cartoons, video games and live-action Hollywood films like Iron Man 2, Captain America: Civil War and next year's much-awaited film Avengers: Infinity War.
[Credit: Marvel Comics]
Studying The Art of War
Remarkably, the War Machine helmet was crafted from four pairs of black and gray Jordan 5Lab3 sneakers. In addition to headgear, a glove or "gauntlet" was also produced, which boasts working mechanics and lights. Topping off the ensemble is Iron Man's arc reactor, the round technical marvel that keeps the injured heart of Tony Stark beating. True to amazing form, it was also created using the sole of a 5Lab3 sneaker with LED lights added.
If you would like to see more of the "No. 117: 5Lab3 Iron Man Helmet" and more mind-blowing "sneaker head" productions of Freehand Profit, please check out his Instagram page. If you think the mask featured here is amazing, just wait until you see an earlier incarnation of the other Iron Man mask ("No. 45), and the Wolverine mask in the colorway of the classic yellow and blue uniform. If you're lucky, true believer, you'll never see your Air Jordans the same way again.
'War Machine' [Credit: @freehandprofit]
