Crowd patterns create ultimate hipster plaid
Is this the most unusual (and literal) example of crowdsourced design?
For too long has plaid been the reserve of the hipster, the lumberjack, and the 1990s grunge revivalist. Beijing artist Zhang Bojun is taking back for the people... in fact, he's made a whole range of cool designs using people from the streets of China as his material.
For the series called 'We' Zhang spent seven years taking photos of people out and about on the streets of China's cities. He then cut out the images of them out of their surrounding and pasted them together to create uniqe patterns.
Currently showing in the Ofoto Gallery in Shanghai, the show is described by the curators as for, as well as of, the people.
"There is no obscure and mystifying part of [this] contemporary art... "We" series is easy for anyone to appreciate and understand without over-interpretation and explanation."
Although seemingly not politically charged, it's easy to see the blending of individuals into a harmonious whole as signafying something. Could it mean the strength of individuals working together? Or perhaps a subversive take on the notion of individuality in modern China? Tell us what you think below.
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Beren has worked on creative titles at Future Publishing for over 13 years. Cutting his teeth as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, he moved on to edit several creative titles, and is currently the Ecommerce Editor on the most effective creative website in the world. When he's not testing and reviewing the best ergonomic office chairs, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors and various types of storage, he can be found finding and comparing the best deals on the tech that creatives value the most.
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