felix semper sculpts stretchable paper sculpture of the notorious B.I.G.

artist felix semper makes paper manipulate in some highly unusual ways. by carefully layering intricately-carved stacks of paper, semper has immortalized the late brookyn rapper the notorious B.I.G. as a ‘stretchable sculpture’, where a seemingly solid bust becomes a fluidly-moving object. with a gold crown on his head, the figure’s face can be picked up, moved, and maneuvered in mind-bending positions and postures. 

semper has crafted the stretchable sculpture from hundreds of layers of glued paper, each carefully modeled around a portrait of the late rap icon. the biggie bust can be transformed to stretch, twist, elongate and retract, warping the notion of its aesthetically solid appearance. semper brought ‘big poppa’ to the streets of new york city, exhibiting the piece in the public — ‘I like to take my sculptures from the art galleries to the public so the average person that normally does not go to an art gallery can be introduced to art,’ he says. 

semper’s flexible form recalls the work of chinese artist li hongbo, whose stretchable paper busts have taken on a range of classical and contemporary themes.