Adrian Hanft uses old receipts as a canvas for his mesmerising animations

Adrian Hanft is an experimental artist who uses non-traditional equipment: junk, old televisions, cassette tapes, coffee stirrers, graffiti, bugs, Raspberry Pi and Lego. He also has “no secrets”. His Instagram has shot up to over 20,000 followers through the popularity of his animations created on receipt papers and shipping labels, all of which contain his name and address. “The subject matter I choose is simple, ordinary moments that are easy to ignore,” says Adrian. “Showing through the video is every mundane purchase I’ve ever made: junk food, deodorant, postage stamps, diapers, and blue jeans – every penny accounted for in explicit detail.”

It’s hard to ignore just how much rubbish accumulates in everyday life but Adrian creates an eccentric tribute to it with beautiful scenes, such as the flap of a bird’s wing, a dive into a pool, gymnastic flips and boxing matches. “When these moments loop they start to feel profound because they have no beginning or end. That runner is never gonna get a break. That woman will never be finished taking out the trash. The ballerina will be eternally spinning,” he explains. The Marxhausen idea of ‘beauty hides in plain sight’ crops up in these unpristine, crumpled canvases, connecting life and motion with the paper in the viewer’s pocket. Better yet, Adrian doubles as a virtual art teacher, showing the behind-the-scenes of nearly every work he publishes. His work prompts viewers to give the transformation of neglected materials a try, he shares: “I feel honoured when someone is inspired to try my odd activities.” When it comes to what is useful in the act of making, it should be no secret that nothing is out of bounds.