1001 Dreams: Body Art and Photography by Yasmina Alaoui and Marco Guerra

There are rare occasions when glancing at a particular photograph will enthrall you to the point that you hold your breath in admiration. When I lay my eyes on Yasmina Alaoui and Marco Guerra’s astounding photographs, I literally stopped breathing. A lot of work goes into creating art like this but it’s not in the order that you’d think. Yasmina Alaoui and Marco Guerra mix old and new techniques together to create life-size body portraits that are mysteriously beautiful. In the series they call 1001 Dreams, Guerra first photographs their nude subjects in black and white either with film or Polaroid. Next, Alaoui draws the complex Henna-like patterns, by hand, mostly with pen and ink and with some watercolor. She incorporates textures such as parchment, leaves, and dried insect wings. Finally, it’s all carefully layered together.

H/T: designswan