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. 

Hand-sculpting individual lipsticks into stunning scenes as well as the likenesses of fashion designers, celebrities, objects and animals, her work in Asia is gaining much attention. But few here in the U.S. are aware of her work... yet.

Take a look at some of her "storytelling" lipstick sculptures:





And her Woman Power series which includes carvings of famous and powerful women in the arts, fashion and entertainment industries:









You may recognize some of the above lipsticks carved into the likenesses of fashion icons and celebrities:


Here's a few enlarged for you....
Anna Wintour:

Audrey Hepburn:

Coco Chanel:

Iris Apfel:

Kate Moss:

Lady Gaga:

Elizabeth Taylor (as Cleopatra):

Twiggy:

Vivienne Westwood:


In her etsy store, Wahahafactory, she now offers ther tailor-made lipstick sculptures. She provides you a choice of lipstick colors from five brands and then sculpts either an object (for $450) or a custom likeness (for $650).

Objects:

Custom:


It takes two weeks and can only be shipped Speedpost or DHL because of its fragility. Remember these are art pieces and are sensitive to climate and handling.



Artist May Sum:


images courtesy of the artist, May Sum, The Wahahafactory blog and website and her etsy store.

The Wahahafactory

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