Although they look like cleverly sculpted porcelain works of art that mimic the form of aluminium cans these are in-fact actual cans, inspired by the motifs often found on Ming Dynasty ceramics that can be dated back to 600 years ago.
The mastermind behind the ongoing series titled Drinking Tea is Chinese artist Lei Xue who crushes the cans before hand painting each of them with the familiar Ming Dynasty motifs and the end result is a brilliant contrast that bridges the nearly 600 year gap between the distinct artistic style and the more modern cans they’re painted onto. If you didn’t know any better you’d swear these the were actually porcelain. You can see more of Xue’s work here.
