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Artist creates optical illusions with makeup
Using paper or canvas to create art is passé. Mimi Cho, a 31-year-old makeup artist from Vancouver, Canada uses her face as a canvas to create stunning hyperreal optical illusions and has taken the Internet by storm.
A former school teacher, Mimi Choi tests her limits by creating makeup looks that are so bizarre that they come across as impeccably photoshopped images at the first glance. Taking optical illusions to the next level, Choi’s Instagram page is filled with images of sliced faces, zippered hands, flipped out eyes, shift make-up and hands converted to ‘fresh sushi’ — all created with a brush and makeup.
The artist’s impressive work has gone viral on Instagram, helping her gain over 280,000 followers. What is the inspiration behind Choi’s stunning art? “I think the reason why it works is because I literally force my ideas to happen in real life. I try not to dismiss an idea just because it seems too crazy or impossible to achieve. I try anyway. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but that’s ok!” reads one of the captions on her pictures.
Choi’s art is also her way to cope with anxiety. “For those of you, who suffer silently from anxiety and panic attacks, that overwhelming feeling of fear, helplessness and desperation... it’s hard to breathe...You feel nauseous and dizzy... Your fingers and feet start to tingle. You are terrified. You feel like you will die. Then it subsides but comes back. It will get better and you will be okay,” she writes.
The artist, who is always curious to learn new things, says that every project teaches her something new. “I usually come up with silly ideas when I’m feeling sleepy at night, and sometimes I’ll write them down so that they won’t slip,” Choi adds.
The look that has earned Choi most praise is the ‘sliced and shifted face’. What’s the key to achieve this trick art? “I use the colour black to mimic space and depth, and light colours to highlight edges to create the illusion of height, volume and separation.”
Presentation is as important as execution, feels Choi. She says, “Clicking a photo and video at the right angle is also crucial to create an impactful illusion. If you truly understand the concept of highlighting and shading, I believe you can create anything on any canvas!”