Artist Crafts Bizarre Sculptures that Transform in Front of Your Eyes

These flexible sculptures look something like giant slinkies.

Beijing artist Li Hongbo was fascinated by traditional Chinese toys and festival decorations made from glued layers of paper that could be opened to reveal another shape, like a flower or a lantern. The art features a honeycomb-like structure that can be quite deceiving to the eye — the work looks like one thing but expands into something completely different. 

Hongbo applied the technique of these decorations, called paper gourds, to create his own unique paper sculptures. He designs large human figure forms with thousands of sheets of flexible paper that stretch out in almost any direction, resembling giant slinkies. Each sculpture takes months to create. 

Hongbo adds a playful twist — literally — to sculptures that resemble more traditional art forms. Check out his fascinating transformable sculptures in the video above.