a student of musashino art university in kodaire, japan, nasa funahara makes replicas of great works of art using colored tape and ribbons. they include famous works from famous artists including vermeer, da vinci, and van gogh. but in the hands of the artist they are no longer paintings and are instead compositions of small adhesive pieces, each one taking about a week to complete.

nasa funahara uses japanese masking tape to recreate famous paintings

elisabeth vigee le brun’s “marie antoinette” which was privately commissioned in masking tape

 

 

funahara uses a masking tape made from washi, a traditional japanese paper that comes in all sorts of colors, patterns and designs. funahara’s obsession with masking tape began as a hobby, collecting the various types she could find. it was only after using the masking tape for an assignment at college that the response from her classmates inspired her to replicate famous paintings using only masking tape.

nasa funahara uses japanese masking tape to recreate famous paintings

a recreation of jakuchu ito’s tiger

 

 

with a collection of hundreds and hundreds of rolls that continues to grow, so does funahara’s body of work. from edvard munch’s the scream, to johannes vermeer’s girl with a pearl earring, she continues adding works even being privately commissioned by numerous organizations.

nasa funahara uses japanese masking tape to recreate famous paintings

utagawa kuniyoshi’s depiction of a face comprised of human bodies, recreated in masking tape

nasa funahara uses japanese masking tape to recreate famous paintings

van goh’s case with fifteen sunflowers

nasa funahara uses japanese masking tape to recreate famous paintings

edvard much’s the scream

source: via spoon&tamago