Thursday Salute to Originals: These sculptures are bananas….B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

If you thought stone, wood, and clay were the only media available to make a sculpture, think again. Bananas might just be the new craze catching on in the world of sculpture. Yes, bananas.

Carved Banana Face Sculptures by Keisuke Yamada

Japanese artist, Keisuke Yamada, prefers to use peeled bananas as the canvas for creating his intricate figures. Using toothpicks and a small spoon, Yamada meticulously carves away areas of the delicate fruit to reveal detailed sculptures. With the fruit itself and other pop culture references serving as inspiration for the forms, he has created everything from comical cartoons to fire breathing dragons.

Unfortunately, bananas aren’t the most permanent of materials. After about 30 minutes, the fruit starts to brown and discolor, leaving only that small window of time for Yamada to compete his works of art. And after they start to spoil, he doesn’t let the fruit just go to waste. He eats the banana, leaving no evidence of the sculpture behind. What a peculiar, nutritious, and fleeting work of art!

Image credits: ObviousWinner