Gallery: Mind-Blowing Portraits Made of Test Tubes and Pushpins
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Michael Mapes recreated some of the Dutch Masters' most famous portraits.
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Instead of using paint, Mapes uses photographs, sequins, insect pins, vials and more to piece together Bartholomeus van der Helst's 1668 portrait of Geertruida den Dubbelde.
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He calls these items "biographical DNA."
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He considers each subject as a collection of individual parts.
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Each individual specimen is pinned to foam.
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These multi-medium collages look like the work of an obsessed detective piecing together a mystery.
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Mapes began these portrait series by using subjects he actually knows.
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This made it easier to gather his biological DNA.
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In a way, these individual parts help to craft a richer narrative about the subjects of these portraits.
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Mapes considers his reworked portraits as an artistic reexamination.
