photographs composed of crayons by christian faur

a crayon portrait as part of the ’50s commercial’ series, 2012 by christian faur all images © christian faur

american artist christian faur has sent designboom images of his latest work as part of his distinctive crayon portrait series. moving away from traditional mediums, faur has employed and manipulated the qualities of the waxy drawing tool. arranging hundreds upon hundreds of them in an upright position so that each one effectively acts as an over-sized pixel, the pieces reference and explore such artistic disciplines as pointillism, sculpture and digital photography. his most recent work has seen the artist replicate 50s commercial and a polychrome portrait divided into nine sections.

faur describes the philosophy and choices behind his work:

‘I think of it like a game, with a set of axioms that are established at the outset through the limitations of the material or forms from which the work is constructed, which then dictates what can and cannot be ‘said’ within the boundaries of the chosen medium. this material limitation can also be a strength, as there is the potential to contain thoughts and ideas in unique ways, so that the ‘medium’ can become the ‘message’. this intertwining of form and function can be seen most directly in my work, which is comprised of crayons and shredded paper.’