• Post category:body art

Emma Hack Takes Body Art To A New Level With Her Latest Collection

Emma hack body painting

We’ve seen body painting before. I’ve posted about well-known hand painter, Guido Daniele and the body painting of shoes on feet by Temptu. And how could I forget Veruschka?* But it wasn’t until I saw her work on the cover of India’s Platform magazine, that I was introduced to Australian artist and body illustrator Emma Hack.

Emma Hack Body Artist

emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
above: The image used on cover of Platform magazine from last year that piqued my interest in the work of Emma Hack.

An artist with several skills; sculpture, multimedia, photographer and more, I’m sharing images of her body painting for this post because it’s simply amazing. Her work uses the naked bodies of both men and women as canvases and incorporates the backgrounds to give us the illusion of a flat surface in which the bodies are so well camouflaged against wall coverings, it’s hard to even see them.

About this stunning collection: Emma’s Wallpaper 2005, 2007 and 2008 collections feature Florence Broadhurst wallpaper designs mixed with her body illustration. Emma continues to work blending her ‘wallflowers’ with the beautiful designs of Broadhurst.

Emma’s recent 2008 collection, featured during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, features exotic Australian animals, nude landscapes and a continued collection of Florence Broadhurst wallpapers. Emma photographed this collection herself, evolving her talents further. Here are her most recent works from her Wallpaper series:

emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
And earlier works in the series:
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artistemma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist

In her Evolution collection, she actually painted animals!
An alligator, a possum, a dragon and turtles:
emma hack body artist
emma hack body artist, painted possum
emma hack body artist, painted reptile
emma hack body artist, painted tortoise
emma hack body artist, painted tortoises

A bit about the artist:
Emma began her career as a make up and hair stylist and painted children’s faces. She has evolved into a world-class body illustrator with several awards and acclaim, as well as a sculptor, a photographer and more. She’s involved in several projects and continues to stretch and hone her talents.

emma hack body artist

Emma is represented in Adelaide by:
Art Images Gallery

*addendum:
I had to amend this post to answer to the several emails I’ve received reminding me of the amazing body painting and transfigurations by Vera Lehndorff (aka Veruschka). I was remiss in not referencing her work in a post about body painting- because it is superb and especially since my colleagues worked with her to produce a Lexus TV and print campaign in the mid 90s.

After beginning her career as a model in the 60’s, Lehndorff used the Veruschka pseudonym to enter the public domain, becoming one of the most sought-after and heavily publicized models in international fashion. Prior to crossing over to the art world with a renowned series of camouflage body-paintings, Lehndorff worked with many prominent photographers, including Helmet Newton.

veruschka body painting
above: self portrait by ‘Veruschka’

Vera von Lehndorff (aka Veruschka)’s myspace page.