Portrait Made of 750 Pairs of Socks

Shanghai-based artist Hong Yi, also known as Red, used 750 pair of socks to create a rather unusual sock portrait of famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. Yi, which is famous for her Coffee Stain Portrait, spent over three weeks on the project and used black, white and grey socks.

Describing her inspiration, the artist said: “When I first moved to Shanghai, I stumbled upon an old residential alleyway and saw bamboo sticks poking out of windows with laundry hanging onto them, waving in the air. To me, that was incredibly beautiful. And the amazing thing is seeing something so traditional in a modern, pumping city like Shanghai“

“I ended up using 750 pairs of socks because shirts were too big and expensive, plus I found an interesting way to pin the socks together, creating a diamond-shaped piece of skin.”

Website: ohiseered.com

Portrait Made of 750 Pairs of Socks originally appeared on Bored Panda on April 23, 2012.