Chris Bonobo's polystyrene tiki poles

Chris Bonobo is a fantastic french carver/painter... He makes tiki since a long time (I think i got one of his small pole 10 years ago or so), and he found a way to make really big but light tiki poles out of polystyrene.

I commissioned him for a marquesan style one for my tiki room. It's amazing how it looks real. I love it.

Have a look at his art and more polystyrene painted tikis on his myspace pictures : http://www.myspace.com/chrisbonobo

Here it is on his garden, and in my room :

awsome..nice style. and its portable..

Nicolas,
Wow, that is way cool! How is he making these? Is he vacuum forming them? Does it have a back side?

On 2008-12-02 10:56, BambooLodge wrote:
Nicolas,
Wow, that is way cool! How is he making these? Is he vacuum forming them? Does it have a back side?

I think he just use a chisel/big knive. He never makes 2 identicals, so it's not in a mold or anything. He says it's easy because it's not hard as wood, so you can carve it with a simple knife.
It has a back side yes, like a real wood one. I asked brown paints, but he usually paints with bright colors..., like those :

So he starts with a big polystyrene block? Wow, incredible! They are all cool, but not to fond of those bright colors. Really like the Tiki Bob style one. Are they lightweight? Does he ship to the states?

he makes different sizes, mine is 2,2 metres (86 inches) and weight less than 22 pounds. It's very large though.

I doubt it would be easy to ship to the US, even if it's light, because it's fragile, that's the problem.

And, yes, he buys big blocks of polystyrene. He started making those for a party, and loved working on it. It's great for tiki events, you can carry it easily, and it looks so nice...I love how he make those wood effects on it.

oh, and here's some other stuff he makes that I love, buttons (cheap, hand painted, moulded) :

(You might remember that tiki on the left on my jacket last when I was in Chi-town)

He's really such a great tiki artist.
The pole you purchased is simply stunning. Amazing.

Benjamin.

Cool! nice color and tikis.