British artist Emma Fay combines her incredible artistic skill with the flexibility of her acrobatic models to create stunning body art that is mind-bendingly realistic.
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It takes a moment to spot the contorted human body behind the animal in Emma’s “Marvels of Nature” series.
Emma told the Daily Mail that the art reminds her of “the remarkable ways animals have evolved to their surroundings.”
“It’s kind of an exploration of evolution — a study of the remarkable things humans can do with their bodies and the remarkable ways animals have evolved.”
“I consider them pieces of art, not body painting.”
Emma, 27, is from Leicester, UK, and previously owned a salon before spending three years perfecting her painting.
She spends up to 6 hours painting each piece on contortionists Beth and Lowri, who wear white leotards.
The models first pose to give Emma an idea of the shapes and lines needed for her painting.
Then Emma works quickly to paint guidelines, as even professional contortionists can only hold tricky poses for a short time.
Emma paints the models with a brush, sponge and water-based paints.
Before quickly getting a shot of the finished artwork in front of a white background.
“The photograph is pretty much the last five minutes of the whole process,” says Emma.
“Then Beth and Lowri are free to go home and have a well-deserved shower.”
Before starting the “Marvels of Nature” series, Emma also experimented with other objects like this teapot.
“The photographs always get a brilliant response. People love the optical illusion aspect of it.”
Emma’s even tackled architectural wonders like St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.
You can see more of Emma’s work and order prints of these mind-bending body paintings at her website.