Women might be taught to dress to suit their surroundings but Emma Hack likes to paint her female models to blend right in - to the wallpaper, that is. The artist meticulously spends up to 19 hours copying the design from the wall-covering onto the naked women.Her models then stand against the surface to create a striking 3D 'human wallpaper' effect.
The incredible images were created by self-taught body artist Emma, 35, who lives in Adelaide, Australia.
She scrupulously paints the patterns onto her models by hand until they seamlessly blend into their background."It can be exhausting for myself and my models," she says.
"But it is my job and my love."
"Even if I am a bit tired, painting relaxes me and I really enjoy the process."
Emma is a veteran body artist who's been in the trade for over 20 years, making a living from painting bodies for adverts, events and exhibitions.
As a teenager she began painting on children's faces at fetes for pocket money and found she had a knack for it.
This led her to studying make-up artistry at college, where she discovered her preferred canvas: bodies.
Years later Emma has won a swag of art awards and is internationally admired on the body-painting circuit.
The camouflage idea came to her in 2005 when she saw wallpaper designed by Florence Broadhurst, popular for her stylish interior designs in the 1930s.
"I saw the amazing wallpaper and I thought 'that's it,' says Emma.""But it was much harder to do than I first thought."
"The designs are complex and the curve of the form is hard to compact into something that makes sense as a flat wall."
But she became engrossed in the work and has produced 29 of the laborious designs since.
"Most take about nine hours," says Emma. "But the longest I've spent on one is 19 hours."
It takes a very patient - and unembarrassed - model, but Emma says she is rarely short of volunteers.
"Pretty much everyone who sees my work offers their body as my canvas," she said.
"But to be honest I really love to use my friends."
"It's lucky I have gorgeous friends."
"They know how to maintain the look and I don't have to worry about them too much to make them feel comfortable."
"They already know what to expect."
Source : Agencies
