Artist Ai Weiwei has used traditional Chinese kite-making techniques to create mythological characters and creatures for windows, atriums and the gallery at Paris department store Le Bon Marché (+ slideshow).

The controversial Beijing-based artist titled the installation Er Xi, which translates as "child's play".
"This exhibition speaks to our inner child," said Ai. "Introducing the fantastic within a retail space strikes the imagination of customers, visitors, passersby."

The characters are taken from Shan Hai Jing, also known as Classic of Mountains and Seas ? a collection of tales told to children that dates back over 2,000 years.
Ai worked with an expert craftsman and team of artisans from Shandong Province to create the sculptures, using an age-old technique that involves stretching silk or paper over bamboo frames.
"These characters are technical feats," said Ai. "At the same time, it's a very simple handicraft. Anyone can make a kite."
The Er Xi exhibition is spilt into three parts, with the first set of sculptures located across 10 window displays.
Image courtesy of Say Who
These two-dimensional pieces aim to tell a story using symbols from various art movements, contemporary and historic events, and motifs from Ai's previous projects.

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In the store's atriums, 3D representations of dragons, chimeras, fish...