WARRINGTON Museum is housing a new exhibition a series of kinetic sculptures made of metal scraps from the depths of the junkyard.

Johnny White, the artist behind the show, specialises in surreal moving sculptures, risqu in nature.

The show stars a mooing pop-art cow and there's also a metal Eden, complete with Adam, Eve and spinning private parts.

The whale-shaped sub-marine is a particular highlight. By pressing a button beside the model, the viewer releases a fountain of lewdly arrayed torsos from the whale's spout.

White produced this model in collaboration with his partner, Amanda Ray, who he met while working on a piece at a reclaimed sewage works in Rotherham.

All the models are made from engineering scraps, including air-compressor tanks and industrial automaton systems.

The Derbyshire-based artist's beginnings help to explain his work.

At school, he earned his money as a bicycle dealer and later moved on to apprentice work at a Birds Eye factory. It was only after completing a foundation course in art at the age of 21 that he made the leap into the world of art.

Exhibiting since 1984, the handyman's devotion to all things welded has remained.

Over the years, he has collected more than seven tonnes of metal. At present he says the count is about three tons,' which he stores in a studio in Yorkshire.

Dressed in Bermuda shorts and donning hoop earring, the calmly-mannered artist explains his enduring relationship with nuts and bolts.

"There is an ease to welding metal things together. With wood you don't get that strength of join and it's very quick. I like using recognisable objects in my work."

Recognisable is part of the former engineer's style. For Head in a Whirl one of the models on show White simulates a smoky maelstrom, using hundreds of welded antique screws Although the models are inspired by Greek mythology and morality paintings, White isn't into big concepts. He is mellow-tempered and added as a parting shot: "The pleasure is just in getting people to see and enjoy it.

"You spend two months doing a piece and that's it. To be art it doesn't have to be miserable."

Mechanical Animals will be running until November 11.