A Bouquet Of Birds. Artist Hong Yi Uses Flowers Petals To Construct Birds.

above: Owl made of white, orange and maroon chrysanthemums with trumpet flowers for the eyes and a dried leaf for beak

Malaysian artist and architect Hong Yi (aka Red) whose wonderful portrait made of socks and coffee stain portrait for Nespresso I have already shared with you, has this sweet series of birds made from flower petals, herbs, dried leaves and twigs.

Lipstick Sculptures by Artist Maya Sum Will Leave Your Mouth Agape.

You may have seen some novelty shaped lipsticks such as the cute cat-shaped lipsticks by Paul and Joe and the Pipedream Products Lipstick Penises, but Hong Kong artist May Sum takes the concept of a sculpted and shaped lipstick a step further.

Glamour Girls Who Will Give you Gas (or Steamy Cabbage) by Ju Duoqi.

Born in Chongqing in 1973, and a graduate of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Ju Duoqi (shown above) is Chinese artist and photographer who first started working with vegetables in 2006. In 2008 she created a series of reproductions of classic painting reproductions using vegetables called 'The Vegetable Museum' and then, in 2010, this hilarious series "The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage." The project consisted of 18 portraits  of pin-up girls and beautiful women made entirely out of green cabbage (the images that appear to use red cabbage are simply altered/inverted).


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 01, 2010
Aima
Size A: 150x120cm Edition:5
Size B: 100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 02, 2010
Ben
Size A: 150x120cm Edition: 5
Size B: 100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 03, 2010
Coco
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 04, 2010
Gaga
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 05, 2010
Guanyin
Size A: 150x120cm Edition:5
Size B: 100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 06, 2010
Lili
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 07, 2010
Oo
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 08, 2010
Mimi (After Marilyn)
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 09, 2010
Nowa
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 10, 2010
Nana
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 11, 2010
Susan
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 12, 2010
Wowo
Size A:150x120cm Edition:5
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 13, 2010
An
Size A:100x80cm Edition:12


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 14, 2010
Sara
Size A:100x80cm Edition:12


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 15, 2010
Loli
Size A:100x80cm Edition:12
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage - 16, 2010
Vivi
Size A:100x80cm Edition:12
Size B:100x80cm Edition:7


About Ju Duoqi:
She won the First Prize of Art Creativity category at China International Ecosystem Photography Festival in 2009 and her works has been published by the Guardian (UK), the Independent (UK), the Sun (UK), Publico (PT), Le Monde.fr (FR), Actuphoto (FR), Courrier International (FR), das Bild (GER), Muyt Interessante (SPAIN), the Irish Times (IR), Daily Times (Pakistan), Panorama (IT), Wall Street Journal (US), Yahoo!News, I LOOK (CN), China Daily (CN), Chip Foto-Video Digital, Photographers Companion, China Photo magazine, Life Week and Xinhua News Agency.
all images courtesy of the artist

750 Pairs Of Socks Make A Portrait Of Chinese Film Director Zhang Yimou.

When Artist/Architect Hong Yi, who goes by the nickname "Red", first moved to Shanghai she was fascinated by how many people still dried their clothes in the traditional manner of hanging them on bamboo poles in alleys, despite being in a sophisticated urban city.



This inspired her to create a portrait of famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou in a similar manner, using 750 pairs of socks provided by HASSELL (shirts were too big and expensive). She found an interesting way to pin the socks together to hang them from the bamboo, creating diamond-shaped pieces of the "skin". As time passed during the day, the sun would cast shadows emphasizing different angles.


above: Chinese film director Zhang Yimou

She honored the director whose films include Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower (he was also the art director for the Beijing Olympics) because many of his movies reflect the beauty of the Chinese culture, through the use of bamboo and traditional costumes, making him an appropriate and worthy subject of her project.


The process:



The piece was surprisingly heavy to hang, friends assisted Red,





A time-lapse video of the project directed and shot by Jonathon Lim


Red creates several interesting portraits with unusual media such as coffee stains, books and teabags.

above: Red with her portrait of Jay Chou made of coffee cup stains

above: Red with her portrait of Mark Zuckerman make with booklets

Hong "Red" Yi

The Artist As Dictator. Phillip Toledano Explores Narcissism and Self-Delusion in Kim Jong Phil.

Most popular blogs and sites have been sharing images from Phillip Toledano's A New Kind of Beauty series (photographic portraits of extreme plastic surgery), because people love that creepy stuff. But Toledano is an artist of many talents that express his unique perspective on the world.

In his project, Kim Jong Phil, Toledano has replaced dictators Kim Il Sung, Laurent Kabilla and Saddam Hussein in pre-existing art with images of himself. The project reflects his personal philosophy revealed in his own words below.

I think a great deal about what it means to be an artist.

I reflect on the elaborate psychological mechanisms required to pursue something so elusive, so ambiguous. I often wonder: ‘Am I talking to myself?’

I don’t make work for other people, but as an artist, I need to be in dialogue with the world that exists beyond my overpopulated cranium. I’ve concluded that to be effective-to be functional-I must guzzle an eye-popping cocktail of delusion and narcissism.

It occurred to me that being an artist is a great deal like being a dictator.

Just like a dictator, I must live in a closed loop of self-delusion. A place where my words and ideas always ring true. A gilded daydream of grandiosity. There can be no room for doubt. I must be convinced that I have something vital to say. I must believe that the world is waiting in keen anticipation to hear my message.

For my palette, I’ve copied pre-existing dictatorial art. Paintings from North Korea, statues of assorted dictators (Kim Il Sung, Laurent Kabilla, and Saddam Hussein). I had these works re-created in China, and each instance, I’ve replaced the great leaders with myself. -- Phillip Toledano, 2011

I insist, ladies first. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

detail:

I'll be back for the dog. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

You have so much to learn, and I have so much to give. Oil on canvas, 50x60 inches:

International world global domination. Oil on canvas, 40x50 inches:

detail:

It's true. I'm utterly fascinating. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

detail:

His royal equestrian majesty. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

A sporting chance. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

Love oils the cogs of revolution. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

I love the smell of adulation in the morning. Oil on canvas, 20x30 inches:

Mr Toledano as Saddam Hussein. Bronze, 20 inches:

Mr Toledano as Kim il Sung. Bronze, 20 inches:

Mr Toledano as Laurent Kabila. Bronze, 20 inches:


About the artist:

above: A portrait of Phil taken by his father

Phillip Toledano was born in London to a French Moroccan mother, and an American father. He believes that photographs should be like unfinished sentences. There should always be space for questions.

Phillip’s work is socio-political, and varies in medium, from photography, to installation.

His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times magazine, The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, Wallpaper, The London Times, The Independent Magazine, Le Monde, and Interview magazine, amongst others.

See more of his work here

Be sure not to miss his moving and personal photo essay Days With My Father.