Heads that can be stretched until they are a metre wide and wooden blocks that suddenly expand across the room. This is all par for the course for Chinese artist Li Hongbo.

A sculpted bust of a woman from classical times - or so it seems, until artist Li Hongbo grabs her head and starts to pull.

What looks like marble or plaster is actually thousands of thin sheets of paper. Li can stretch the woman's head until it's more than a metre long.

A sculpted bust of a woman from classical times - or so it seems, until artist Li Hongbo grabs her head and starts to pull.

It's an unusual way of looking at the world, but it's one that came naturally to Li, a former book editor.

"I studied in college for many years, so I was poor when I left! As a result I chose the cheapest and most ordinary material as my resources to create with. Since I had experience in the editing and printing field, I decided to choose paper as my medium." Li Hongbo, Paper Sculpture Artist said.

Li's sculptures start as a stack of fine paper glued together in specific areas. An average sculpture comprises of around 6,000 sheets of paper. The largest ones can have as many as 25,000 sheets and require several people to lift and carry.

"The most difficult thing is the production and creation. Due to the flexibility and durability of the paper, we have to be careful when we choose and layer different kinds of paper." Li Hongbo said.

Li works on his creations in an unheated warehouse in a run-down neighbourhood on the outskirts of Beijing.

Before working on his sculptures, Li puts on protective gear. He zips up a plastic bodysuit then dons protective goggles and a mask.

"These days I still don't know if I would consider myself a real artist. I prefer to regard myself a practitioner of art. I couldn't judge my own works and their merit." Li Hongbo said.

An average sculpture takes him about a month to complete, but larger ones can take as long as six months.

"My art lets people reconsider the nature of things, and break stereotypes- to be able to think in new and fresh ways." Li Hongbo said.

Li's artwork has started to attract international attention. An exhibition of his works titled "Tools of Study" recently opened at the Klein Sun Gallery in New York.

Some of his latest creations are truly global in their reach. One of his newest projects, "The World", consists of paper sculptures shaped like the outlines of 200 different nations around the world.