Wolfgang Stiller had been experimenting with leftover art materials in his studio when he began his matchstick project with molds of Chinese faces and bamboo.
As the site-specific installation, entitled Matchstick Men, Stiller used thick pieces of lumber to make the sculptures look more like real matchsticks.
German artist Wolfgang Stiller created the matchstick men installation by experimenting with leftover materials
The Matchstick Men were created using the moulds of human faces on top of sturdy pieces of lumber to create the effect of oversized matches
The installation includes a variety of bent, warped, and burnt pieces with haunting human faces, as well as oversized matchboxes.
The installation is not a travelling exhibition and Stiller has created numerous exhibitions in different places.
The Matchstick Men will be on display at Python Gallery in Zurich as part of the show Burnout which runs until April 20
Matchbox coffin: The artist insists that his Matchstick Men exhibition is not intended to reflect a view of China and says it is open to interpretation
The installation is not a travelling exhibition and Wolfgang Stiller says he will make more Matchstick Men while he is still able to create fresh collections
He said he will continue to make new Matchstick Men installations as long as he is able to come up with fresh ideas for how to present them.
Stiller, who has lived in New York, Shanghai, Beijing and Berlin, leaves creative interpretation of the Matchstick Men exhibition up to the viewer.
The 52-year-old artist said: 'The installation can appear like a battlefield or just like some playground where someone played around with matches and dropped them. All the heads I've used so far are from Chinese people.
'This sometimes leads to the assumption that this is a criticism of the Chinese government. One can read it that way, but I think this metaphor could be used for any western system as well.
'The matchboxes could be simply seen as formal elements within the installation, as coffins, or simply as matchboxes. I actually like to keep it open since I don't like art that leaves no space for one's own imagination.'
The Matchstick Men will be on display at Python Gallery in Zurich as part of the show 'Burnout' which runs until April 20.
Some of the Matchstick Men are discarded over the floor, while others appear tucked away in an oversized matchbox
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