Leather becomes lifelike sculptures of crabs and eagles in hands of artist Yeh Fa-yuan

Leather sculpture is a rare artform practiced by skilled craftspeople worldwide. In Taiwan, Yeh Fa-yuan has been making stunning leather art for 36 years. Using techniques he developed himself, he’s found new ways to bring a simple strip of leather into a 3D work of art. From lifelike crabs to eagles, ants, and even human beings, Yeh can fashion them all out of leather. But as he shared with us, making a living from art has not always been easy. After years of hard work in obscurity, now Yeh’s work can be seen at the world famous Louvre Museum in Paris.

A tap of the hammer, and a flick of the chisel: gradually a pattern emerges. The trimmed-down crab’s legs are softened in water and remodeled.

A pin is used to create hairs. The crab’s body and legs are assembled, pieced together, then brushed with green dye. When it dries, another layer is applied – 10 times. Then the lifelike crab is finally complete.

Yeh Fa-yuan
Leather sculptor
Quite by accident, while I was working, I noticed a piece of leather that looked like a guitar. That’s how I first got involved with leather. I quit my job to dedicate myself to leather art because I think that it’s a very happy thing to be able to do work that interests you!

In Yeh Fa-yuan’s nimble hands, a simple piece of leather becomes a vendor with a basket full of crabs, ants crawling over watermelon or crystal sugar, or a dish of stir-fried pork. Yeh quit a stable career to follow his passion, and over the years he was surprised to find people loved his work.

Yeh Fa-yuan
Leather sculptor
Actually, while I’m working, I always think that artists need to have a lot of perseverance and willpower, to keep struggling at it for long periods of time, as well as a kind of foolish desire to just keep doing it, without complaints or regrets. At the stage when you’re not yet famous, you can go months without making any money. I thought about giving up, in the past. And I thought to myself, “Maybe I need to adjust my pace and my methods, so that I can fulfill these dreams of mine.”

Hsu Kuai
Wife of Yeh Fa-yuan
I’ve got a good line in leather chat! I can talk about his work in a more indirect, softer, more storytelling kind of way – about where he got the ideas for the piece, or the inspiration behind it.

And Yeh has also made a name for his work worldwide, having pieces exhibited at the Louvre Museum in France. His wife, a former art gallery tour guide, is his marketing manager par excellence.

Yeh Fa-yuan
Leather sculptor
I encounter many difficulties in my work, and I did once think about quitting. The insight which the eagle gives us is that we must have the courage to change and the determination to be reborn.

This series of eagle sculptures, created painstakingly over two years, exhibits the luxurious soft feathers of the bird, as well as their charismatic strength. Like Yeh himself, they swoop low to the ground so as to soar into the sky.