Shanghai, the hustling and bustling city representative of a growing Chinese culture, remains to be discovered. Traditionally, cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong have stood out to tourists traveling East Asia due to their popularity in the western world.
In North America, cities like New York and Hollywood have been inspirations for many pieces of art. Classic writers claim that New York in a place like no other, and today’s modern artists still feel love for their cities. For example, Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” and Katy Perry’s “California Girls” come to mind. Taiwanese artist Bang-Yao Liu, known for his work with PostIts and stop-motion animation, was commissioned to create a scaled down version of Shanghai using inexpensive materials.
As can be seen, Liu’s creation is very colorful and vibrant. I think it brings out the youth of the city, and the opportunity for potential development and growth. Cities come alive at night, and seem concrete and ordinary during the day. In this case, the variety of colors makes the city seem very lively even in the normal light.
The scale of the city is really not as small as the first image depicts. These buildings are mostly boxes, which can be quite tall once stacked upon each other. I think it’d be quite interesting to see the plastic Shanghai in person, the feeling of seeing such a vibrant, scaled-down version of the city and walking through it will no doubt create a bizarre feel.
The whole project is built upon a foundation of industrial wooden planks. The buildings are consisted mainly of plastic tubs, buckets, shovels, and other various items including even a long string that acts as a cable. I really like the small details that Liu included in this creation.
A closer shot reveals the effort put into the collection of materials. The green-colored sponges resembling grass couldn’t have been that easy to find, and balancing those orange boxes right back there would probably not have been that much fun! I think that Liu did a great job building up this model of Shanghai.
If you’re into urban lifestyle, have a look at the folding scooter and these bizarre phone booth designs.
Via: Sweet Station
