Over the years, a talented artist by the name of Hong Yi has created portraits using obscure mediums like stacked books, coffee cup stains, basketballs and paint, and even melted candles. And now she’s back with one of her most tedious creations to date: a portrait of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi made from carefully dyed carnations.
Yi started with a unique blank canvas this time — specifically white carnations. And instead of spray painting them with different shades of red paint, the carnations were placed in small cups containing various concentrations of red food colouring.
As the dye was absorbed into the flowers they changed colour, and over a period of a day the grid of flowers eventually revealed the portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi. The piece is also unique because a few days after it blossomed the flowers all died, leaving behind only photos and videos of its fleeting existence.