The allure of the human body as canvas has a tremendous draw on artists, whether it is a literal transformation of the body by makeup and special effects artists, symbolic juxtaposition of human form and art, or using a human canvas as a launching pad for creating unusual complexity, texture and dimension. In Marvels of Nature, conceptual artist Emma Fay used human models, carefully posed and painted, to create intricately detailed wild animals. What sets these creations, photographed by Jonathan Macauley, apart from other body paintings is Emma’s avant garde choice of models. Contortionists Beth Sykes and Lowri Thomas flex and twist in astonishing shapes, bringing Fay’s painted creatures to stunning life. In particular, model Lowri Thomas, painted as a giant tarantula, turned upside down and spider-walking down a flight of stairs, is fascinating, beautiful, and terrifying all at once. Enjoy the video and photo gallery below…if the idea of a giant, unsettling spider doesn’t fill you with any kind of terror, that is.
Related Posts:
– I Will Stitch Your Eyelids Shut: The Horror of Ommetaphobia
– The Bones of the Dancers are Heard to Crack: English National Ballet in “Hallowed”
– A Crazy, Mad, Wonderful Idea: Tim Burton in Harper’s Bazaar
Categories: Oddities
Posts from Beyond the Grave: Oddities Edition 
We Found Something In the Ice: 31 Terrifying Snowmen 
He Hunted Men and Didn’t Want Mice: Jólakötturinn the Yule Cat 
One of Us: 5 Marvels of the Early Sideshow 
The Year of Halloween 
Sorry I set your terrifying model on fire, Miss Artist Lady….
That spider walk is something else.