Ugly Moto’s beautiful motorcycle art defines contradiction

Francis Ooi is not only an artist, but also an ironicist. Under the name Ugly Moto, his company produces beautiful works of art – the subjects of which are the most iconic racing motorcycles of the 1960s and 70s…

Singapore-based Ooi’s chosen motorcycles include landmark Ducatis, Hondas, Yamahas and Harley-Davidsons; there’s also a tribute to Barry Sheene’s Suzuki RGB500 in the works. But perhaps more impressive than the simplistic elegance of the illustrations – each of which requires 800 graphical components and a month’s worth of Ooi’s time to complete – is that he runs this business as a sideline hobby around his day job as a creative director at an ad agency. And we thought Don Draper burnt the candle at both ends…

Don't try this at home

The Ugly Moto illustrations are available as prints, each priced at $65 and limited to 100 examples. If your personal favourite is no longer available (ours is Paul Smart’s Ducati 750 Imola Desmo, if you’re asking), you could always attempt to create your own using the timewarped video below as inspiration.