5 unusual mosaics that will blow your mind!

Mosaics have always found a way to fascinate us. For centuries, artists have been able to create breathtaking designs through the arrangement of coloured tiles shapes and patterns. Today, mosaics are a popular form of modern art, with displays that can be across the globe.

You don’t need to be an expert artist to create great mosaics, what it really requires is creativity and vision. The beauty of mosaics is that they can be created from almost anything, whether object or material, to portray stunning designs. Here are five pieces of mosaic art that will leave you stunned…

Darth Vader Electronics mosaic

This mosaic will no doubt catch the eyes of any Star Wars fan! Buenos Aires, Argentina-based artist Elisa Naranja Metalica Insua is known for creating artworks out of toys, jewellery, recycled materials, and anything else one might find laying around the house. In this particular piece, she uses a range of household electronics to create a mosaic of one of film’s greatest villains, Darth Vader.

Such a contrast of recycled electrically materials and appliances can be displayed in this mosaic, such as:

• Cameras
• PlayStation Controllers
• ipods
• Floppy disks
• Computer Mouses
• Gameboys

Fitting that these materials are used to depict a character who is referred to as being more machine than man. Check out some of the obscure objects in this mosaic for yourself!

Kevin Bacon Mosaic

This is one mosaic that is sure to leave you hungry!  It might not seem like your typical mosaic at first, but in fact the face of Kevin Bacon, created entirely out of… bacon. Jason Mecier created this humorous and intriguing piece that takes the actors’ surname literally in its design. Elements of bacon are used in different ways, such as the fatty pieces used to show the shine of his forehead and face.

Van Gogh Polo Mosaic

It’s often stated that art is subjective, which can be showcased in numerous approaches – including fashion. The particular mosaic displays the portrait of legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh, made from 2070 polo shirts. The 10x10m mosaic located in Tokyo was created by Japanese apparel maker, Onward Kashiyama Co, as part of a campaign.

It apparently took 20 members of staff around three and a half hours to set up the portrait, showcase the dedication of this mosaic. This genius mosaic goes to show the creative lengths people will go to create unique artworks.

Marilyn Monroe Barcode Mosaic

It’s unbelievable how artists like Scott Blake can find ways of using simple objects like barcodes to create stunning mosaics. Scott is known best for creating portraits made entirely out of barcodes. This particular portrait of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe is made up of 1,944 barcodes from 22 DVD’s of movies the actress has featured.

Even more ingenious is that each barcode scanned plays a short clip from one of her movies on a nearby monitor in a looping technique. By doing so, Scott has linked both art and technology to showcase how art is moving into the modern era. Check out the video below to see how it works!

Jimi Hendrix Mosaic

A master of the guitar, Jimi Hendrix is one of music’s biggest icons. Back in 2011, Manchester artist Ed Chapman created a 120cm x 100cm mosaic of Hendrix made from over 5000 coloured guitar picks. More fitting was the fact they were Fender guitar picks – from the same make of guitar Hendrix was known to have used.

The mosaic was created for a charity event that took place at the famous Abbey Road Studios. The vibrant mosaic was expected to have made £16,000, which went to Cancer Research UK. A fitting tribute to a rock legend, and for a worthy cause!

We hope you’ve enjoyed these incredible mosaics. For more amazing mosaics, check out this article – Incredible UK Mosaic Tile Art You Need To See