Scavenged pieces from rubbish tips and scrap metal yards make up the American-born Blue Mountains resident’s characters in the exhibition titled Mr Odongo Okono and others of his ilk.

Pieces of wood, doorknobs, old handbags, buttons and almost any odd bit make up the sculptures who have names like Gilberto and Omar. 

The more “old, funky and twisted” the better, Mr Hammial said. 

“It just comes out of my head,” Mr Hammial said. “I get pieces of junk and spread them out on the table, see what fits together. But then I have to think about how they go together and that takes me a while.

“I don’t weld deliberately. There are so many out there who weld, and I don’t want my work to look like everybody else’s. I use nuts and bolts and screws and bits of string to put them all together.”

Mr Hammial’s sculptures have taken him to Paris, where he featured in two group exhibitions, and to Sydney and regional galleries with 30 solo exhibitions since he began creating his sculptures in 1968.

However, Mr Hammial, who is also a poet, did not start sculpting the most conventional way.

“I fell off a cliff near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and was in hospital with a full body ,” he said. “Because of all the drugs I was on I couldn’t think straight and couldn’t write my poetry. 

“I’m an obsessive creative and I needed to do something, so my friends took me to a tip and brought me pieces and I said yes or no, and we took it all home. We put it on a big table and I walked around on crutches, trying to piece things together. I made 40 pieces in about four months.”

The sculptor hopes his works will bring entertainment and enjoyment to Orange residents.

Mr Odongo Okono and others of his ilk opened on Friday night and will be on display until March 1.

alexandra.king@fairfaxmedia.com.au