A fire dragon, a pink flamingo, and a crazy robot. These are just some of the characters one can find next to the cars in Roman Kiselev’s garage. This work in progress is a centaur – the horse part is almost ready, and the artist is thinking about how the human front side will look. “I’ll make him embossed, so he looks impressive”, says Roman. “As for the legs, he’ll look like he’s rearing, or about to run, caught in motion. The centaur’s upper body will have a naked torso, of course. He will be holding a bow, as if he’s firing an arrow.”

A car mechanic by trade, Roman’s passion is sculpting. He’s been making artworks using metal and scrap parts for three years – and his growing collection has everything from cars to fish, horses and dogs as well as birds with human faces.

It took some effort to recreate the architectural sights of Kaliningrad – the Cathedral and Friedland Gate, the Royal Castle and the Gates of Lobenicht Hospital. “All of this is made of wire. First, I would do a drawing with each window, using a photo. Then I would bend it all by hand, welding some parts. Sometimes I had to change some things or redo them”, explains Roman.

The mechanic-turned sculptor makes the frames out of soft wire, using any scrap metal he can find – from pipes, bolts and screws, to fittings and plates. His friends provide him with inspiration for new sculptures. Roman’s colleague Aleksandr Gavrilov says the artworks are a good way to attract new customers. “He welded the Hulk, for example. People look at it and start thinking in terms of car repairs, dent removal, and so on. They see that Roman knows how to work with metal, and does good quality work, so they want to be his clients.”

The two-meter tall Hulk statue is the biggest and most impressive character in the collection – and has already made several appearances at exhibitions and sport events. Roman says the character has made quite an impression in the city. “When the tow truck picked him up and took him to Baltrayon across the city, my friends started calling me and asking ‘Where are you taking the Hulk?’ They thought I’d sold him!”

Roman doesn’t want to sell his sculptures. Instead, he plans to organise a solo exhibition in the near future. By then, his centaur statue should be just about finished – and can take its place among his array of artworks.