The late Steve Jobs has inspired artists to immortalize him in bronze, on canvas, the silver screen and even the opera stage. There was even a guy who injected paint into bubble wrap to create a Jobs portrait.
But the oddest may just be a Jobs likeness made by a smoker arranging ash in an ashtray.
Say what you will about the chosen medium for the Japanese artist who goes by the name Shin. The careful arrangement of each microscopic fleck is a spot-on recreation of the famous Albert Watson photo, an older, bearded Jobs seemingly in thought with his hand resting on his chin.
Shin appears to layer the ash to create various shades to make it more photorealistic and he finished off the Jobs portrait with the Apple logo.
Jobs co-founded Apple and is considered a towering tech figure credited with starting the personal computing revolution. He passed away in 2011 and artists all over the world, including tattoo artists, have been moved to interpret his place in popular culture. Many have been featured in Cult of Mac and the stories can be found by searching “Steve Jobs art” on the site.
A countryman of Shin’s, Koheil Matsuno, is a barista and artist who creates intricate designs in the foam of lattes, including the Watson likeness of Jobs.
The health-conscious Jobs probably wouldn’t like Shin’s smoking or being remembered in cigarette ash.
Besides smoking, Shin’s other habit is drinking coffee and from stacking and cutting windows into the paper cups, he creates layered animated stories that come to life by turning the different cups (see a video below).
He also seems to play with his food, too, especially toast, on which Shin will doodle cartoon characters using syrups and pieces of fruit.
What sounds absurd could leave you impressed. A 2016 article by Spoon & Tamago, a website devoted to Japanese art, design and culture, shines a light on this creative soul and displays some of his work.
He can also catch his work on Twitter, Instagram and his YouTube channel.
