“Weird Beauty” Alexander Khokhlov
“Weird Beauty” is the name of this striking series of portraits, created by Alexander Khokhlov, a Moscow-based photographer. The series contains a group of models with various designs painted onto their faces. The faces are either painted completely black or completely white, and then used as a canvas for some kind of artwork, which presents viewers with a complex optical illusion of positive and negative space.
Courtesy of Alexander Khokhlov
A Russian photographer Alexander Khokhlov decided to disregard a traditional perception of make-up. In his Weird Beauty photo series, made together with a Russian make-up artist Valeryia Kutsan, Alexander uses women’s face as canvas creating sharp black and white patterns. The duo chose shapes and symbols that are hardly relatable to a human’s face, like a QR code or a large key hole which make the models’ faces dissolve in the background.
Courtesy of Alexander Khokhlov
Surprisingly, the contrast between the soft faces of the models and the strict lines of the body paint creates a beautiful contrast, quite like black does to white. The pictures look like optical illusions, where your eyes first catch the drawing, and only after that you discover the beautiful female faces underneath.
Courtesy of Alexander Khokhlov
Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.