Architects always have the future in mind when they design. That's particularly evident in today's cityscapes as they continuously try to one-up each other in who can raise the world's next tallest, more-modern-than-thou skyscraper for all to gaze in awe -- or not. For Jingjing Naihan Li, a long-time resident and practicing architect in Beijing, modern skyscrapers can be invasive and gradually make the city's public spaces feel less familiar.
As a clever response to the skyscraper frenzy she saw at home and abroad, Naihan created a collection of the most recognizable towers scaled down to meticulously replicated wax candles titled "Flammable."
"Together, it looks like a party of all the alpha males of the world," Naihan responded in an email. "In places like New York or Hong Kong where land is limited, it was somewhat justifiable to build high and dense. But as the cities with the skyscraper were viewed by other developed countries as the representative of modern success, the skyscraper phenomena started to spread beyond the functional constrain..."
"The number of skyscraper office blocks built in China and the vast un-occupancy left them empty and hanging there like paper houses that we burn for dead people. They become giant vertical light boxes sitting there getting dusty."
Naihan added that the intact candle is only the half-finished product. "Only when it's burnt down to the end, whatever is left there is the unique and complete state of the sculpture." So take your pick(s), light 'em up, and watch the buildings melt.
Images via naihanli.com
Click the thumbnails below to see more images.
5 Comments
>>>fun! >>>ready for Madame Tussaud's all-stars wax museum
Yikes! It looks like a display at The Pleasure Chest (so I've heard).
not a single towering inferno 9/11 comment?
what do I pay you people for?
oh yeah -
can you elaborate on this mysterious "pleasure chest"?
I have no clue what you're on about.
Actually, Boy, I was going to make a more general fire code comment, but the other one was easier...
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