Take a Walk in Palace of Rainbows

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja Created in 2006 by multidisciplinary artist Kimsooja, To Breathe – A Mirror Woman was an elaborate installation at the Palacio de Cristal, Parque del Retiro, in Madrid. Originally built in the late 1880s to house a collection of flora and fauna from the Philippines, Kimsooja transformed the Palacio de Cristal into a multisensory sound and light experience. A special translucent diffraction film was used to cover the windows to create an array of naturally occurring rainbows which were in turn reflected by a mirrored surface that covered the entire floor. Additionally, an audio recording of the artist breathing was played throughout the space to further enhance the experience.   Elaborate New Portraits Drawn on Vintage Maps by Ed Fairburn Using a wide variety of canvases including railroad blueprints, star charts, geological and street maps, Welsh artist Ed Fairburn uses additive and subtractive techniques to create portraits that seem pefectly integrated with the topography of streets, mountains and rivers. The final portraits are so entwined with the map, it becomes hard to imagine one existing without the other.     Ceramic Sculptures by Brett Kern Look Like Inflatable Toys Artist Brett Kern creates detailed ceramic objects that at first appear almost indistinguishable from inexpensive inflatable toys. Kern mimics the tell-tale wrinkles and forms of air-filled toys like dinosaurs, astronauts, balloons, and even whoopie cushions—all made from clay.   Dutch Paintings Recreated Using Thousands of Photographic and Scientific Specimens With hundreds of tiny photographic fragments, gelatin capsules, magnifiers, plastic bags and insect pins, New York artist Michael Mapes creates collages that are equal parts portraiture and scientific specimen. For his latest works Mapes used photographs of paintings by Dutch masters Rembrandt, Nicolaes Eliasz Pickenoy and others as inspiration for large scale specimen boxes. The deconstructed photos along with myriad other materials have effectively been transformed into a collage of a painting of a person.   Vintage Textiles Transformed Into Flora and Fauna by Self-Taught Artist Mr. Finch The self-taught artist Mr. Finch is part hunter, part gatherer and fully genius. Obsessed with the rolling hills and mossy woods near his home in Yorkshire, Finch goes gathering for inspiration. He then goes hunting for vintage textiles—velvet curtains from an old hotel, a threadbare wedding dress or a vintage apron—and transforms them into all sorts of beasts and toadstools. The aged feel creates a sense of authenticity, or mystery; as if each piece has an incredible story to tell.   Polar Vortex 2014: Photos of a Chicago Deep Freeze The wintry assault here in Chicago as a result of the Polar Vortex was bitterly cold and dangerous as temperatures plunged to historic lows. Despite the life threatening temperatures, it was also strangely beautiful. The landscape, especially along the Lake Michigan shore, was transformed into an Arctic wonderland the locals are calling CHIBERIA. Here's a collection of some of the best photos we've seen from Chicago's most intrepid photogs.   360° Visual Stories Cut into Paper Books by Yusuke Oono This fun set of paper books was created by Japanese graphic designer and architect Yusuke Oono who conceived the idea as a clever way to illustrate scenes from individual stories in three dimensions. The 40-panel books are laser cut from paper and assembled into a booklet that can be viewed page by page or fanned out as a sort of layered diorama of silhouettes.