Before I begin a discussion about this piece, I think it's best to tender an important confession: I am an avid devotee and willing participant in a sketchy movement that is presently enjoying a renaissance of sorts in America. Formally known as Polynesian Pop Culture, it's more commonly referred to as Tiki Culture. I love the art and humor, the outlandish aesthetic and eccentric spirit, I love the music and unapologetic kitsch.
This explains in large part my recent interest in bamboo and coconut shells as fabrication materials, and more specifically my obsessive need to make radios out of them.
Coconut Radio is a high-grade FM radio receiver mounted in a coconut shell, with an automotive brake-line antenna and coat-hanger-wire dial pointer. The base and knobs are bamboo, with labeling branded into the bamboo. I'm making lots of these because I expect my fellow Tiki devotees will go ape over them.
7"x5"x6"
Coconut Shell, Bamboo, Steel, Electronics, Mechanicals