Meet the robots made from scrap at the Willis Museum

Gizmobots is an exciting, family-friendly free exhibition which runs until October 15 and tells the story of the Gizmobots, brought to life by Haig from recycled scrapyard and skip finds.

Featured on BBC One’s Money for Nothing, Gizmobots are “found object robots” that start life as ordinary, discarded items discovered in second-hand shops, skips, car boot sales and scrap yards.

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Haig carefully crafts the parts to create unique characters, each with their own personality and humorous story.

As a child, Haig used to sit in front of his parents’ electric fire making robots and spaceships out of cogs, wheels and bits of wood that his dad brought back from his job as a clock repairer.

Fast forward to today and he is on a mission to teach the younger generation the value of re-purposing, through repairing or re-imagining old objects into whimsical sculptures.

The display will run from August 10 until October 15 (Image: Mark Paine)

While many of Haig’s creations are decorative, he also makes practical robots which have functions like speakers, radios and lamps.

Alongside past creations, Gizmobots features a brand-new, giant robot made on-site by Haig, as well as robot-inspired street art commissioned by prolific artist, Dan Wilson.

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Wilson has responded to  Haig’s robotic creations through art, creating a large-scale triptych – artwork comprising three panels - which cleverly displays the Gizmobots meeting robots from different eras.

The exhibition is accompanied by creative, family-friendly robot-inspired activities including make-your-own masks, puppets and cardboard tube robots to keep the cogs turning for little ones throughout the summer holidays.

More information about the exhibition and events can be found at visit hampshireculture.org.uk/event/gizmobots.