Philadelphia-based artist Kim Alsbrooks has been painting exquisite miniature portraits on discarded flattened beer cans for the past 10 years for her series ‘My White Trash Family’.
Alsbrooks was inspired to start it after simultaneously becoming frustrated and intrigued by the class distinctions and historical biases in art.
Using cans that have been flattened by vehicles, she chooses a portrait that suits the style of each can, first gessoing it before drawing an image in graphite and painting it in oil, then finally varnishing the piece.
Her paintings are usually portraits from the watercolor on ivory era from the 17th to 18th century, and the finished works highlight the interesting clash between the rarefied air of high art and the disposable nature of the medium.
Check out Alsbrook’s work below and view more trash-turned-art at her blog.
[via BOOOOOOOM! and artnau, images via my white trash family]