Real ingenuity is finding purpose for objects that would otherwise have a fairly short life – things like , sunflower seeds and . is a Malaysian artist who has dedicated her work to this kind of resourcefulness.
Last year, Yi recreated an iconic portrait of using nothing but 20,000 sunflower seeds (it was a throwback to his , made of millions of porcelain sunflower seeds).
In 2014, she martial artist and actor a present like no other: a portrait of himself made up of 64,000 disposable bamboo chopsticks.
20,000 sunflower seeds were used to create this portrait of Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei. Source: Hong Yi
“I like to use everyday, ordinary materials for my work – stuff that we often overlook,” says the artist, who has been living between Malaysia and LA for the last two years. “I love presenting these things in a different way that would challenge viewers to look at their surroundings with fresh eyes.”
My uncle was forced into creating specific propaganda work, and told me he ‘threw his paintbrushes away’ to stand up for what he wanted to create.
This anything-but-a-paintbrush approach to creating art is directly inspired by her grand uncle, himself an artist during the Cultural Revolution in China. “‘I threw my paintbrushes away’ is his motto, so I remember to think unconventionally and beyond my perceived limit,” she says. “My uncle was forced into creating specific propaganda work, and told me he ‘threw his paintbrushes away’ to stand up for what he wanted to create.”
Yi’s foray into art began after graduating with a Masters in Architecture from the University of Melbourne and moving to Shanghai. It was in China where she unearthed a drive to tell a particular story through her art – one of in Asia.
“Perhaps it was the shock of living in a city that had the right mixture of chaos, history, speed and people that jolted me into wanting to create something, so I’d remember the experience of living there,” she says. “I discovered the range of affordable bulk materials available from wholesale markets – I created art installations and documented them on video.”
This red cabbage creation was inspired by Eva Longoria in her Marchesa dress at the Met Gala 2010. Source: Hong Yi
Created to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in honour of drowned Chinese poet, Wu Yuan. Source: Hong Yi
In 2012, achieved viral status – it depicted Yi painting NBA superstar with red paint and a basketball.
But Yi’s talents aren’t confined to large-scale works. In 2013, in an attempt to demonstrate her versatility to her growing following, she set herself a personal .
I love presenting these things in a different way that would challenge viewers to look at their surroundings with fresh eyes.
“Wanting to impress my audience by creating bigger, more complex work was a trap for me, because one day I realised I wasn’t creating much for anymore as I wanted my work to be perfect,” she says. “I gave myself the 31-day challenge so I would create a small artwork on a plate and post it online by the end of each day, even if I didn’t like the piece.”
What these plated creations lack in size, they make up for in brightness and spontaneity. They’re a whole lot of fun – and they’re entirely edible (we have it on good authority that’s exactly what Yi did after photographing them). There’s , an eggshell chicken underneath a boiled-egg sun and a house being carried up into the air by a bundle of jelly-bean balloons.
Her materials range from salty (her rendition of Munch’sThe Scream contains cured meat) to sweet (think Oreo cookies and ice-cream), and include representation of nearly all the food groups.
According to Yi, her hard work paid off: “I posted pictures to Instagram and was shocked to wake up one day to so many notifications from people following my work,” she says. “One of the founders of Instagram started following me, and it kind of took off from there.”
The challenge paved the way for more experimentation on subsequent projects. Her most recent work, , sees her explore the artistic merits of five types of loose leaf: black tea, chrysanthemum, osmanthus, tiger lily and rosebud. The result is nothing short of spectacular.
L: chilli tulip garden; R: "Sonny, if anything, just stay far far away from Colonel Sanders." Source: Hong Yi
"Owlnion" - made of shallots and mint leaves with a sharp kitchen knife. Source: Hong Yi
Yi's adaptions of "The Scream" and "The Great Wave off Kanagawa". Source: Hong Yi
This tiger was made from 5 types of dried tea leaves. Source: Hong Yi
“I use dried tea leaves instead of fresh food now, because I'd like to preserve my work – usually with a layer of resin for the leaves,” she explains. “I’m exploring the use of tea leaves in my works as a marker of culture in Asia.”
