Morphing Paper Sculptures By Li Hongbo

I get amazed by artist's ingenuity every day... It so happens that at least three or four times a week, I find somebody that uses the most unexpected materials to create their artworks with.

Today I discovered Li Hongbo. He's a widely appreciated man, with experience in many artistic fields. As a former book designer and editor, you could say he's very used to using paper in his work. And although paper is widely used in art, he's the first man to use it in the manner you're going to see below.


Li glues sheets of paper into paper blocks of roughly three centimetres of thickness. This alone is a slow and painstaking process, but it's a vital preparation step. Afterwards, the blocks are cut into shapes that best describe the volume and silhouette of the final sculpture. They are glued together and then the actual sculpting and polishing process can behind.

The final result looks like an ordinary sculpture, however, the real surprise is when you try to lift it. Because of the genius workflow, the sculptures are flexible and can extend and bend in a similar way that a chewing gum does.

This creates a unique and intractable piece of art. For the full process, watch the video below.