Monday August 19, 2019 By: Eman Ahmed
With passion for painting and a talent in special effects makeup, Body Artist Basma Shahin is revolutionizing the art scene in Egypt through her 3D human canvases. A graduate from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 2019, Shahin had worked as a cinematic makeup artists on the set of some short movies and plays. While in college, she developed a passion for Body Art, and started studying the works of western artists in this field. Shahin is a fan of American body artist Alexa Meade, who is best known for her paintings in the same field.
Basma works in her art studio, downtown Cairo. For her paintings, she improvises to create colorful artistic scenes. With the themes vivid in her mind, she first selects the colors, backgrounds, the décor and costumes. She blends these elements to create an integrated piece of artwork. She brings her setting to life by adding the human element into the scene. She uses the human body as her canvas and paint on his/her face, body and costume to create a live artwork piece. Her creations are overwhelmly admired, She always receives comments like, “Is this really a real human body or Is it a digital painting?”
“It takes about half an hour to paint a model’s body,” Basma Shahin told Women of Egypt. She uses special non-toxic paints that are gently applied on the skin. In comparison, it takes more time to draw a suitable background, pick special clothes, set the location and lighting. She also uses professional photographers to shoot her portraits. “Both the models and photographers always gets excited about the idea,” Shahin added.
Shahin wishes her work brings attention to Body Art and that this technique be used in commercials, video clips, musical plays, musical films and opera performances in Egypt. She hopes she can have young Egyptian celebrities model for her paintings. She aspires to participate in International theatre performances and for an Egyptian Body Art Festival.
Photos via Basma Shaheen Facebook page
Visit Basma Shaheen Facebook page to view more of her artwork here
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Very talented , very professional , good job 👍
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amazing
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