Tim Hunkin
Encyclopedia
Tim Hunkin is an English
engineer
, cartoonist
, writer
, and artist
living in Suffolk
, England. He is best known for creating the Channel Four television
series The Secret Life of Machines
, in which he explains the workings and history of various household devices. He has also created museum exhibits for institutions across the UK, and designed numerous public engineering
works, chiefly for entertainment.
He graduated in engineering from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
.
Hunkin's works are distinctive, often recognisable by his unique style of papier-mâché
sculpture (made from unpainted newsprint), his pen and ink cartoon
s, and his offbeat sense of humour.
His "Under the Pier Show" at Southwold
, England is a penny arcade featuring a number of humorous, coin-operated machines of his creation. Attractions include the "AUTOFRISK" (a device that simulates the experience of being frisked
by multiple, inflated rubber gloves); the "BATHYSCAPE" (a device that simulates a brief submarine
adventure); and a somewhat rude sculptural clock.
Many of his other projects are large-scale and theatrical, including gigantic clock
s of unconventional designs, bonfires and pyrotechnic displays. In 1976, he designed the flying pigs and sheep for Pink Floyd
's In The Flesh tour, promoting their Animals album.
His displays are also featured in episodes of The Secret Life Of Machines and relate to the machine covered by the programmes. These included a mountain of flaming television
s; flying vacuum cleaner
s fitted with rocket motors; a carhenge
; a ballet of self-propelled portable radio
s; and a bizarre "pilgrimage
" of an internal combustion engine carried, shoulder high, on a bier
into the centre of Carhenge. The Pink Floyd inflatable pig was also featured in the vacuum cleaner episode. Other displays featured in the series were more informative, such as a free-standing central heating
system and a "human sewing machine." The programs also include his cartoons in voiced and animated form.
He has published several books in his distinctive cartoon
style. His first was a children's book, Mrs Gronkwonk and the Post Office Tower (ISBN 978-0207955006) in 1973, which he recently made available again at Lulu.com
. In 1988 he published Almost Everything There Is To Know (ISBN 1-871307-43-0), a compilation of his comic strip
"The Rudiments Of Wisdom," first published in The Observer
. He is also the author of the book Hunkin's Experiments (ISBN 978-0954226602), which describes a variety of science-based pranks, games, and curiosities. Much of both books is freely available online.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
living in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England. He is best known for creating the Channel Four television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series The Secret Life of Machines
The Secret Life of Machines
The Secret Life of Machines is a television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery...
, in which he explains the workings and history of various household devices. He has also created museum exhibits for institutions across the UK, and designed numerous public engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
works, chiefly for entertainment.
He graduated in engineering from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
.
Hunkin's works are distinctive, often recognisable by his unique style of papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
sculpture (made from unpainted newsprint), his pen and ink cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s, and his offbeat sense of humour.
His "Under the Pier Show" at Southwold
Southwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
, England is a penny arcade featuring a number of humorous, coin-operated machines of his creation. Attractions include the "AUTOFRISK" (a device that simulates the experience of being frisked
Frisking
Frisking is a search of a person's outer clothing wherein a person runs his or her hands along the outer garments to detect any concealed weapons or contraband.-Stop and frisk:...
by multiple, inflated rubber gloves); the "BATHYSCAPE" (a device that simulates a brief submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
adventure); and a somewhat rude sculptural clock.
Many of his other projects are large-scale and theatrical, including gigantic clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
s of unconventional designs, bonfires and pyrotechnic displays. In 1976, he designed the flying pigs and sheep for Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's In The Flesh tour, promoting their Animals album.
His displays are also featured in episodes of The Secret Life Of Machines and relate to the machine covered by the programmes. These included a mountain of flaming television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s; flying vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
s fitted with rocket motors; a carhenge
Carhenge
Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge located near the city of Alliance, Nebraska on the High Plains. Instead of being built with large standing stones, as is the case with the original Stonehenge, Carhenge is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint. ...
; a ballet of self-propelled portable radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
s; and a bizarre "pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
" of an internal combustion engine carried, shoulder high, on a bier
Bier
A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin or casket containing a corpse, is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.In Christian burial, the bier is often placed in the centre of the nave with candles surrounding it, and remains in place during the funeral.The bier is a flat frame,...
into the centre of Carhenge. The Pink Floyd inflatable pig was also featured in the vacuum cleaner episode. Other displays featured in the series were more informative, such as a free-standing central heating
Central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...
system and a "human sewing machine." The programs also include his cartoons in voiced and animated form.
He has published several books in his distinctive cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
style. His first was a children's book, Mrs Gronkwonk and the Post Office Tower (ISBN 978-0207955006) in 1973, which he recently made available again at Lulu.com
Lulu.com
Lulu is a company offering publishing, printing, and distribution services with headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since their founding in 2002, Lulu has published over 1.1 million titles by creators in over 200 countries and territories and adds 20,000 new titles to their catalogue a month...
. In 1988 he published Almost Everything There Is To Know (ISBN 1-871307-43-0), a compilation of his comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
"The Rudiments Of Wisdom," first published in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
. He is also the author of the book Hunkin's Experiments (ISBN 978-0954226602), which describes a variety of science-based pranks, games, and curiosities. Much of both books is freely available online.