Body Art Reaches New Heights in Emma Hacks’s Stunning Human Murals

Australian artist Emma Hack has perfected the art of camouflage and body painting: in her striking installations, she turns naked models into exquisite murals.

The artist has been working for over ten years, and became a household name after her collaboration with musician Gotye on the video clip for his Somebody That I Used to Know single, which amassed more than 500 million hits on YouTube.

Last summer, as part of an exhibition at Rebecca Hossack’s gallery in London, Hack took her work to an exciting new level, stepping into the world of performing arts as she painted models live in the space.

“I either paint a background or choose some wallpaper from an archive, before heading into the studio with my model, slowly painting her outer edges, then filling in the detail on center of the form,” Hack told the Daily Mail at the time, explaining her creative process.

In London, Hack showed a series of wallpapers created by the late interior designer Florence Broadhurst, which served as a backdrops for her models. Several pieces from her series Birds of a Feather also featured live birds held by the naked models.

“If there is a bird in the work, they arrive towards the end of the process and are positioned,” Hack told the Daily Mail. “I then photograph the results.”

Each piece takes between eight and 15 hours to complete, but Hack loves the unpredictability that comes from working with animals. “You never know what to expect working with birds and animals. The owl is very cute, but also very naughty and it is hard getting him to look at me,” she explained.

See the video clip that launched Emma Hack to stardom below: