Inspired by the honorable Aung San Suu Kyi who fought for a democratic Burma (Myanmar) and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, creative artist Hong Yi, who goes by the nickname “Red” created an ephemeral portrait. Aung San Suu Kyi is often pictured with flowers in her hair because on the day he was assassinated, her father put fresh flowers behind her ear before walking out the door. Using 1,000 carnations in carefully placed plastic cups with varying amounts of water and red food dye to create different shades of color, nearly 20 hours of set-up time, and 40 hours for the saturation to fully develop, Red’s creation allowed Aung San Suu Kyi’s beautiful smile to shine through. The portrait measured 11.5 by 14.75 feet and took a month of flower dye experiments to get the plan ready. Although the piece only lasted about 5 days before the flowers started to wilt, Red brought awareness to a strong, compassionate, well-respected woman that many are unaware of. [Read more...]