Unique Portraits

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In our next story we bring you a look at some unique portraits that have been produced using special materials and techniques. Let’s check it out.

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A woman's face subtlety appears through splendid flowers. This is the portrait of famous Chinese actress Fan Binbing. At a glance, the works appear to have an endless number of dots. But when looking closely, the viewer can notice the dots are holes made by burning incense. The artwork is completed by attaching two sheets of Korean paper that each have different drawings produced by burning incense. The artist came up with the idea of burning incense about ten years ago when he saw a leaf appearing to burn in the sunlight.

[Soundbite] Lee Gil-woo(Artist) : "It has more meaning because although a part of it disappears as it burns, it transforms again into a work of art through the process."

With endless repetition and endurance, it takes up to two months to produce a single piece of work. Mesmerized by the effects created by incense fire, Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has requested his portrait be created using the same method. These portraits, with their vivid colors and dimensional feel, are made out of none other than packaging tape. The artist chose tape as secondary paint material after discovering by chance that special colors can be expressed by sticking tapes on top of each other.

[Soundbite] Cho Yoon-jin(Artist) : "Tape links things together. Using tape plays on that concept as I use people I wish to meet as subjects for my work."

The artists' experimental mind of expanding the horizons of art using materials in everyday life are breathing new uniqueness into the characters in portraits.