A sculpture made from paper is stretchable. [Photo/IC]

Classical Greco-Roman-style sculptures are commonly seen in museums and art galleries, but few have seen them stretched and twisted like wire springs. A Chinese artist has made that happen.

Li Hongbo, 40, has created a series of classical images that look as though they are straight from the pages of history, but are in fact from the pages of a sketch pad made of paper. Not only do the sculptures look like they've been carved from marble they also expand and contract like slinkies.

The Beijing artist uses a centuries-old technique traditionally employed to make paper lanterns called honeycomb gluing for his creations.