Main: Matt Hope at his studio in Beijing's Caochangdi arts district. Inset: Breathing Bike, which includes a mounted air filter. Photos: Courtesy of Matt Hope


British artist Matt Hope never fails to turn heads when he cycles around Beijing. The 37-year-old Londoner is the mastermind behind Breathing Bike, the two-wheeled solution for getting around Beijing and breathing air that is clean, rather than just filtered. Since the bike was unveiled at November 2012 Beijing exhibition "Get It Louder," it has attracted plenty of attention for its innovative, albeit apocalyptic-inspired, design.

Using electric and wind generators and a modified moped helmet fitted with a fighter pilot breathing mask, the bike appears to be straight from the set of a sci-fi blockbuster.

As its rear wheel turns, it powers the wind generator. This then activates an electric generator that powers a home air filtration system mounted at the rear of the bike inside an old IKEA trash bin. Particles are filtered and clean air is blown using a fan through a pipe into the breathing apparatus. However, the bike's 5,000-watt electric generator means that riding in the rain could potentially be fatal. 

"I built it from scraps," says Hope, who has lived in Beijing for five years. "It's my crazy, fun solution to a really big problem."

Heading out to the Caochangdi arts community on Monday, I spent half an hour trying to find Hope's studio nestled among workshops and museums.

When I eventually knocked at the frosted glass door to his industrial-looking courtyard, I was surprised to see Hope dressed casually in overalls sporting a neat haircut; he didn't seem to fit in among Caochangdi's Bohemian artists dressed in torn, paint-splattered clothes. Modest and soft-spoken, he welcomed me inside for our interview.

He first offered to give me a tour of his studio, taking time to patiently explain peculiar-looking installations and sound art constructions with a smile.

Art imitating Beijing life

Hope's idea for Breathing Bike came from his personal experience of cycling in Beijing. From riding to the capital's mountainous outskirts to navigating its CBD gridlock, the artist found wearing a typical face mask provided insufficient protection against toxic air particles.

My gaze soon turned to an odd, pointed metal object resting next to his famous bike. "It collects water from the air," Hope says, explaining the device is powered by solar energy. Much like Breathing Bike tackles Beijing's air pollution, this creation is Hope's answer to the capital's crippling water shortage.

"Since Beijing doesn't have enough water, I thought it'd be fun to make a sculpture that collects water," he muses.

Most of Hope's works are made from discarded remnants retrieved from industrial sites or flea markets as part of his self-confessed philosophy to "recycle most things I make."

In addition to being inspired by "the calamity of Beijing," Hope is also influenced by other urban problems.

He built a 2-meter-high acoustic speaker made of fragile clad plates, which are commonly used as partition panels in buildings in China. "If you play the speaker really loudly, it starts falling apart," Hope explains, squeezing the tip of the speaker to demonstrate how easily it disintegrates into powder.

Its meaning, Hope claims, reflects the "speeding up of decay" in Beijing.

"I find China has this kind of quality. Lots of things are decaying and crumbling," he says. "It's much like my studio, where the walls are cracking because of bad concreting and painting."

It's easy to understand Hope's point when explained within his 40-year-old studio, where our interview is interrupted by the sound of his roof shaking from sudden gusts of wind.

"There are a lot of problems, and people are connected to those problems," he sighs.

After graduating in 1999 from the UK's Winchester School of Art, Hope received his master's of fine arts at the University of California in 2004. Three years later, he came to Beijing to inspect white marble produced in Fangshan district - an ideal material for carving sculptures - but soon decided this was the city for him.

Pursuing pragmatic artistry

Mild-mannered Hope sometimes finds his art is misinterpreted among audiences both in China and internationally. "Some of my works are supposed to be funny, yet people think they are real. While others sometimes think my real works are funny," he says.

Breathing Bike, which Hope says aims to make light of Beijing's poor air quality, sparked surprise when people considered it a genuine invention. "Clearly, you can't ride around like that," laughs Hope, noting that some bike makers had contacted him after it was unveiled.

But for an artist whose works can be perplexing to even the art-savvy, drawing a line between the serious and lighthearted can be challenging for regular people.

At the entrance of Hope's studio is what appears upon first glance to be exercise equipment ubiquitous to many Beijing residential compounds. However, as Hope explains, it's actually one of his artworks.

The "air walkers" are rigged to electric generators that roar to life when used, powering light bulbs. "People are the machines," Hope stresses. "There is more labor than technology here."

His unfinished works include an installation that features a laser beam bouncing off tiny mirrors, and a pair of speakers facing each other. To the untrained eye, the latter looks like strewn audio equipment. But Hope says his goal is for the speakers to "interact" and shout at each other.

Elsewhere, the studio resembles a hardware store with carts, water pipes and even a 1-meter-high wrench he has created noticeable. "When I make things, if it feels more like an artwork it goes into a box labeled 'art.' Other things go to another box," he explains.
 
Hoping for greater acceptance

Hope describes his hobby of 20 years as "messing around with speakers," explaining it offers him a "break from art."

As a teenager, he enjoyed mixing electronic music and soon found himself swept up in London's rave culture, his love of tinkering with speakers growing from its pulsating music and flashing lights.

But in Beijing, Hope's artworks involving speakers haven't always been well understood, which he attributes to "cultural differences."

He has adjusted his work to involve more approachable subjects that aim to connect with Chinese audiences, such as his decaying speaker installation.

Hope sees Beijing as a "dangerous, unhealthy" city to live in, but enjoys its rough diamond appeal. "China is going through this huge dramatic change. Whether it's nice or not, it's interesting," he says. "When I go back to England, I find it much better, but boring and dull."

Hope spends around one-third of his time studying physics, architecture and mechanics - all subjects at the core of his unique brand of art. Having spent five years in Beijing designing, building and testing his art, he plans to launch his debut solo exhibition later this year.