Can wax figures move by themselves? Contemporary Nu Wa joins forces with a raw artist to welcome the “new life”.

Check it out!

The wax figure actually moved!

                              (On the left is a waxwork, on the right is a real person)

What's new?It all started with a visit in July.

The two artists hit it off！

On July 6, 2024, contemporary artists Mr. Wu Ningya and others visited WeiMuKaiLa's headquarters, Grand Orient Wax Art, accompanied by Grand Orient Wax Art's founders, Mr. Liu Zhen and Ms. Zhou Xuerong.

                                                 （Mr. Wu Ningya visited the wax figure）

One is Mr. Wu Ningya, a “fierce” artist who has crossed many boundaries in his half-life, and the other is Ms. Zhou Xuerong, a skillful artist who is known as the contemporary Nuwa. It was during this meeting that the two artists and teachers hit it off, and they decided to inject a new wind into the art of wax figures.

Unlike the previous wax figures, the two artists joined hands to “create a new life” to add “movement” to the lifelike, so that “like” is no longer limited to static. Lasted 6 months, two Mr.Wu Ningya was produced.

Dedicating hair to the arts, Mr. Wu Ningya gains a new hairstyle

Wax figure, as a hyper-realistic sculpture art, in order to restore the prototype of the character, the measurement is an essential part, from the body data to the color of the skin, will be collected by the craftsmen one by one.

In this tailoring session, Mr. Wu Ningya decided to dedicate his own hair to the art, shaving off his hair and beard and transplanting them onto the waxwork, so that the work would have DNA.

After shaving off his hair and beard, Mr. Wu Ningya even said that he had never tried the bald look before, but this “hairstyle” is really good, and he will continue the bald look in the future.

Behind the lifelike is rigorous and meticulous work, every inch of skin on the body of the color is different, in order to more restore Mr.Wu Ningya, the colorist will use the color card to each part of the contrast, restore the color of the Mr.Wu Ningya skin.

Measurement is complicated and cumbersome, as little as 2 hours, if you also have to turn the mold in person, the time will be stretched to a day, in order to provide more accurate data, Mr. Wu Ningya chose to turn the mold in person.

Starting from the head, leaving only the nostrils to breathe, and waiting for the mold material to dry before removing it, Mr. Wu Ningya, this sitting is an afternoon, properly dedicated to art.

Sculpting sessions, countless carvings and double-checks

The perfection of a waxwork begins with the most basic clay modeling, which is the sculptor's process of three-dimensionalizing flat photographic data. After collecting all the body data, the sculptor will make thousands of moldings and details to ensure that every bone, muscle, and tendon will be accurately reproduced depending on the pose of the wax figure.

Mr. Wu Ningya, who is devoted to the work, came to Grand Orient Wax Art Company(DXDF) several times during the production of the work to compare with the clay drafts.

Ms. Zhou Xuerong also shared an interesting story that happened during the review of the clay draft and the real person. In terms of the presentation of the contour of the face, Mr. Wu Ningya would think that her own contour is clear, but in fact, Ms. Zhou Xuerong observed that Mr. Wu Ningya's contour is on the softer side. This different view just confirms the saying that the way you see yourself is different from the way others see you.

Mold Turning Session

Once the clay draft is done, the casting and mold opening is the main and most crucial step. The body and head are injected with different materials, the head is a soft silicone for subsequent implantation of hair, while the body part is made of a harder material to withstand countless repeated touches.

White embryo coloring, restore the original color of the skin

After the mold is turned, the colorists will paint the white embryo to depict the original texture of the skin.

Hair implantation session, transplantation of real human hair

The implantation of a wax figure's hair and eyebrows takes 7-15 days. The implantologists implant the pre-collected hairs into the head of the wax figure one by one using specialized tools.

Even another of Mr. Wu Ninya's bald works will be shaved after hair implantation is performed, restoring the true state of human scalp hair.

Installation and make-up setting, the work is finished!

The wax figure is finally mounted and dressed in the costume provided by Mr. Wu Ninya and the work is complete.

                                               (Silicone Statue Work of Mr. Wu Ningya）

                                    (Silicone Statue Work of Mr. Wu Ningya）

A moving “he.” That's funny.

For this customization, Mr. Wu Ningya not only customized a static wax figure, but also another moving wax figure, which can twist its head instantly to inject more vivid life into the wax figure.

The collision of the two artists' new style

This is a new level of interpretation of wax art.

What other new styles will the two artists collide with in the future?

Please look forward to it!