Porsche is participating in this year’s Gdynia Design Days, a Polish arts festival. The automaker enlisted conceptual artists Ada Zielinska and Rafal Dominik to create a unique art installation. The two following this year’s theme – oceans and climate change – decided to create an artificial reef on the iconic sports car.
“People are setting reefs with old cars and shipwrecks today and we thought it would be interesting to use the classic 911 in the same way, and showcase it in its own right,” said Zielinska.
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Artists have a challenge finding someone to lend them their 911. Porsche Poland Marketing Director Marek Sworowski began looking for a suitable vehicle, eventually finding a 1973 911T which the owner was about to repair.
Zielinska and Dominik used 3D printing and crushed shells to create art cars. It took two “intensive” weeks to complete, bonding the finished form to the vehicle. It is unrecognizable once done. The car entitled “Sunken Romance” made its debut at the festival. A crane lifted it above the Gdynia harbour, attracting the attention of the crowd.
“Many people were very surprised and actually thought it had been taken out of the sea,” added Zielinska. “People were running at him from all directions, pulling out their phones to take photos.”
After the festival, the car was stripped of the artificial reef and accessories and returned to its owner so he could begin restoration work. However, Zielinska later contacted Porsche to make a film exploring the imagined artwork from the original story.
Porsche has commissioned several pieces of art over the past few years, turning its models into eye-catching creations. Last month, the automaker showed off a giant race car driver playing with the new Porsche 911, and there have been smaller creations as well. Porsche revealed two art cars based on the Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo in 2022. Two artists gave the vehicles different exteriors.
