Naomi Campbell etched into leather hide
A Welsh artist has created an exhibition of famous portraits -- by etching them into leather canvases.Mark Evans carves the stunning images into leather hides which he says lend themselves perfectly to the portrayal of potent personalities.
His latest 'Skin Deep' works include a huge image of super-diva Naomi Campbell which was sold at a charity auction in London.
Mark says the portrait pays homage to Campbell’s legendary beauty, whilst at the same time depicting the primal, often masculine way in which beauty is viewed and desired.
Other portraits in the series include Muhammad Ali, Sir Winston Churchill, Vladimir Putin and The Hulk. I thought we had already mentioned Naomi Campbell.
Mark say he was first inspired to use leather 10 years ago whilst attempting to remove a blood stain from a favourite leather jacket. Using the palette knife that was the tool of his trade as a fine art student at Middlesex University, Evans made a mark in the surface of the jacket that metamorphosed into a portrait of Jimi Hendrix, and there was no going back.
"Working in skin is a visceral experience for me. It’s something primal I’m trying to understand," said Mark.
"We live in this nano, synthetic reality. Our lives, our food… it’s all shrink-wrapped and sanitised… Leather is different, it was once a living, breathing creature, and in our digital age leather has an authenticity."
LINKS
Scream Gallery
Images Courtesy of Scream Gallery London
Copyright Mark Evans 2010
