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See How Body Paint Turned Naked Women Into New York City Landmarks

1 minute read
By Laura Stampler

It’s easy for New Yorkers to feel like they are invisible in such a big city. Artist Trina Merry took this concept literally by using body paint to transform topless models into New York City landscapes.

Brightly colored sneakers drew attention to their faint outline, hidden in the Guggenheim or Manhattan bridge.

Body Paint Artist NYC Landmarks
A model appears to blend into the background as she stands in front of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.Trina Merry—AP

“I wanted to engage the city and understand it and make some observations,” Merry told the AP. “So instead of a person right in front of the Empire State building or the Statue of Liberty, they’re softly in the background, and you’ve got more of a reflective view of the person within the landscape.”

Body Paint Artist NYC Landmarks
Jessica Mellow poses in front of the Manhattan Bridge after Merry, a body-paint artist, camouflaged Mellow to blend into the bridge, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.Trina Merry—AP

Angle was everything when camouflaging each model into the landscape. It took six hours to complete each “work.”

Trina Merry, Jessica Mellow
Merry is a body-paint artist who seamlessly camouflages her semi-nude models into New York City’s skyline, blending them into Central Park, Coney Island and other famous landmarks.Rachelle Blidner—AP

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