A bike for Beijing

Upgraded versions of public exercise machines at Hope's studio. Xu Lin / China Daily

It took him only five days to finish the bike in October last year, but it did not generate much interest until January when a friend shot a video and uploaded it online.

"What a cool bike! He really looks like a pilot," says an online comment on Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, while other netizens also spoke highly of his innovation and jokingly said they wanted a similar bike, too.

In January, air pollution in Beijing reached record high levels, and smog shrouded the city for 25 days in a month and PM 2.5, particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, became a major concern. Hope's bike became part of the buzz.

Right now, Hope uses a regular bike instead of his innovative two-wheeler, for fear that he may damage it. He is also in discussion with organizers interested in exhibiting it abroad.

It has been quite an adventure for Hope, who came to Beijing in 2007 after being commissioned to do some large-scale sculptures. He soon realized that it was much cheaper to practice his art in China than in other countries. So he never left.

"I was doing similar stuff in London but coming here allows me to do more experimental things because it is cheaper and I can create more works. I have more fun here," he says.

He had wanted to live in China long before the opportunity arose, because he was drawn to the energy and activity of the country which he was seeing so much of on television.

"In China, it seems you go through lots of things very quickly. It seems to be the ideal place to recycle something like this because you can build up stuff very quickly, too," he says. Hope observes that old things are destroyed and new things are made to replace them, just like buildings, and the whole process is a work in progress that is never finished.

"I like China, which is enormous not just its population and land, but also its history. Caochangdi is quite a community and I can communicate with the other artists," he says.

Hope has produced many interesting works, such as industrial designs and sculptures and experimental prototypes. For example, when he first came to Beijing, he made a machine that can collect water from the air because the weather is so dry.

"His work is beyond art. Ever since we were in art college together, he has deconstructed common perceptions in the real world to build new inventions like the bike. His work commonly changes one form of energy like sound or light into another while at the same time taking your original idea about his art and expanding it," says his best friend Jon Phillips, designer of Hope's website.

As for the blue-and-yellow exercise machines, which are quite common in Chinese communities, he upgrades them too.

The walking exercise machine gives off light when one walks on it, and the weight lifting machine can generate electricity.

It may take several months before he gets to create anything concrete. For example, he is now experimenting with wires to make a sound sculpture, along with projects that combine art with various disciplines such as physics and engineering.

"The most difficult thing is to try to find the answer and keep on track. It takes on different stages before you get it right, and sometimes you don't know where to go," he says.

But one thing keeps his dreams alive.

"Beijing is still inspirational for me. The feeling I get here is great for an artist because I see different things and get more ideas," he says.

Contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn.