liao yibai sculpts large-scale stainless steel fake leica

liao yibai sculpts large scale fake leica from stainless steel
image courtesy of mike weiss gallery

intricately crafted in striking detail, the shining ‘fake leica’ by chinese artist liao yibai is a large-scale representation of the legendary german camera, plated in hand-welded stainless steel. the giant metallic sculpture is rendered in perfect accuracy, mimicking the lenses, shutters, knobs and even the trademark scripted logos of the renowned brand’s models. its framework has been constructed from a combination of wood, wire and clay, molded and given shape through careful consideration and research of each mechanism’s visual characteristics. gleaming a brilliant silver, the ‘fake leica’ follows yibai’s thematic artistic application of both discrediting and glorifying the increasing obsession with opulence and luxury goods as mike weiss gallery explains, ‘the artist’s works illustrate the challenges he faced during childhood ­ and his paralleled fascination with american culture [and] confront the multitudes of popular brands and logos and their overwhelming presence in today’s society.’

image courtesy of mike weiss gallery

image courtesy of mike weiss gallery

image courtesy of leica store los angeles

image courtesy of mike weiss gallery

image courtesy of mike weiss gallery

 
image courtesy of mike weiss gallery