
Did your mom ever tell you not to play with your food? She was probably right, it’s not a nice thing to do when there are thousands of people who are struggling to afford proper meals each day. However, if you’re able to create an art piece out of your food, then we guess you’re in a league of your own. Like these banana tattoo artists, or this banana engraver from Japan who creates stunning replicas of famous characters using bananas!
The 26-year-old banana lover, Keisuke Yamada, started engraving bananas out of boredom. Using only a fruit spoon and toothpicks, he initially experimented with carving a face on a peeled banana, and gradually expanded his portfolio with various amazing creations ranging from objects to animals to popular movie and anime characters. He has since then earned the reputation of “banana syokunin” (banana craftsman), and has even made appearances on Japanese variety TV shows showcasing his unique talent.
▼ Banana syokunin, Keisuke Yamada
▼ These are the tools he uses.
People have been engraving fruits and vegetables for centuries, but bananas are seldom used for engraving due to their soft texture. It must take great amounts of patience and control to create such intricate replicas of things and characters on the small surface area of a banana!
▼ Objects and animals
▼ The Simpsons
▼ Attack on Titan
▼ Sazae-san (Japan’s longest running TV animation series)
▼ Spiderman
▼ Frankenstein
▼ Aliens vs Predator
▼ Kill la Kill – Mako Mankanshoku
▼ Yuzuru Hanyu (Sochi Olympic Men’s figure skating gold medalist)
▼ Who would’ve thought bananas could look so badass!
We hope and believe that being a banana lover, Yamada consumes his masterpieces after completing them. To see more of Yamada’s work, follow him on Twitter or Pixiv!
Source: Zhaizhai News
Images: Banana Syokunin on Pixiv and Twitter























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