Mythical Creature Made of Matches


Remember Pei-San Ng? She's the talented architectural designer and multimedia artist who makes incredibly beautiful art out of the red tips of matches! Ng just told us about a few new pieces she's created including a stunning half-burned phoenix. It's calls Out of the Ashes.

“It's a mythical creature born out of fire, out of complete destruction,” she says. “It's also said that the phoenix is the female equivalent of the Chinese mythical creature of the dragon, symbolizing ultimate power and strength. This piece, made of matches, reminds us that we all have the potential to rise out of the low, the ashes and be reborn or to re-invent ourselves to be purposeful and determined.”

For those interested in the technicality involved with Out of the Ashes, Ng shares that in order to save time, she creates lace work patterns on the wings and body. “The less density of the matches, the quicker I produce the piece,” she says.

In order to fully appreciate this piece, you must see pictures of the work up close.








I like this sentence in her artist's statement, “When you look at these pieces you realize that – if you light the matches then you change the work if not burn it completely, there is a tension there, you get a moment of satisfaction and then you have nothing – I like that tease.”

Make sure to check out Pei-San's website for more new works including typographic pieces like HIdden, Little Crush and Desire.

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