Korean artist and master of optical illusion Dain Yoon, has been catapulted to internet superstardom for her mind-blowing body art. The former art student uses a combination of make-up and watercolors to create artworks on her skin that will make you rub your eyes in utter disbelief. The end result, published on her Instagram page that has now 150k followers, is never photoshopped. Every brain-boggling illusion is created using only paint, brushes, and Dain Yoon’s surroundings.
Through her work, Yoon explores the ‘complexity of human beings’. Her masks represent the many conflicting emotions, personality traits, and points of view held within each individual human. In an interview with Arts Avenue, Yoon explains:
“Nowadays, many people tend to hide their true feelings and cover up their real identities by wearing invisible masks. We all have multiple faces and identities. I wanted to express this in my art, so I started painting fake faces on my real face.”
Yoon is careful to pay particular attention when painting facial features like eyes and noses. She makes them as realistic as possible to ensure the illusion is effective. “I want my audience to get confused when they look at my face”.
When looking at the photographs of Yoon’s work, it’s almost impossible to believe that Photoshop hasn’t been used to produce the effects. Her interest in the formal aspects of illusion art, and her technical training have most definitely paid off.
Yoon is inspired by everyday things, integrating her body parts with ordinary objects and their surroundings to generate fresh perspectives. After photographing each work, she immediately washes it away.
