Upcycled lipstick artwork highlights attempt to reduce waste
One lipstick is bought every four seconds, but considering the consumer-driven world we live in that is likely a gross underestimation. With experts saying you should replace your rouge every year, and with no recycling taking place, there is ultimately plenty of waste.
What gets left behind is plenty of packaging that eventually just gets thrown in the rubbish. In an attempt to get “society to think more seriously about consumerism and the types of products they are purchasing, and bring attention towards the need to reduce waste,” artist Agnė Kišonaitė created ‘Giant Lipstick’.
Giant Lipstick becomes a reality
Agnė, who is based in Vilnius Lithuania, created the Giant Lipstick artwork using 5,000+ used lipsticks in a variety of 340 different shades. After the month-long construction, the finished artwork measures 2.5 metres high and weighs in at a whopping 200 kg. That sure is a lot of used lipstick.
A lipstick structure for Hong Kong
After her success with Giant Lipstick, she came to the attention of a Hong Kong agency who wanted something similar for one of their clients – a large shopping mall in Hong Kong. This time around the artwork was on a larger scale, measuring 3.03 metres and using an astounding 18,399 lipsticks. The pressure regarding construction was also raised as this time she would attempt to break the Guinness World record for the largest lipstick structure. This record attempt meant that she was only able to use two items when constructing the new artwork – lipsticks and glue.
Drawings, calculations, and sourcing of so many lipsticks took two months while construction took another month. The final artwork was then shipped in separate pieces to Hong Kong where the final piece was constructed. The final artwork, called Lipstick Tower, went on to receive the world record.
Check out the month long construction of her original Giant Lipstick art piece in the video below.
While these artworks are amazing, the message that Agnė wanted to get across with her original piece was to ‘Consume responsibly,’ a very important message indeed.
