Design

An artist made a gun that shoots tears and the internet can't get enough of it

The beautiful brass gun lets the wearer fire their tears back at whoever caused them.

A brass gun that shoots tears is shown.
Yi-Fei Chen

Taiwanese artist Yi-Fei Chen has brought a whole new meaning to the concept of turning your pain into art. In 2016, the designer created a brass gun that used her tears as bullets. The faux weapon was chic and sleek and came with an origin story of vulnerability. In 2021, it’s suddenly getting major love again from thousands of people on Twitter.

Yi-Fei Chen
The gun collects teardrops in a silicon pocket placed on the cheek. They're then funneled into a bottle on the gun, which carries dry ice that freezes the teardrops into a bullet, Chen told Design Indaba in 2018. Yi-Fei Chen