Albert Zakirov, an artist from the Russian Federation’s Tatarstan Autonomous Republic has an original, albeit controversial painting technique – he uses women’s naked bodies as his paintbrushes.
Albert Zakirov started drawing and painting at an early age and spent much of his childhood preparing for art school. After studying with an excellent teacher for a couple of months in tenth grade, he picked up the necessary knowledge to get admitted into art school, where he quietly studied the basics while experimenting with all sorts of unusual techniques and mediums. He never graduated from art school, but it was there that he first used a woman’s body to paint on canvas, and it was this experience that inspired him to make the technique his own.
“I did my first body painting’ with a woman when I was in art college, in the 1980s,” Zakirov told SNTAT. “We rented a room with canvas and paints, and then we fooled around, smearing and painting before throwing away the artwork. At that time this method could not be shown to anyone. ”
In the year 2,000, the Russian artist remembered his unusual painting technique and painted another picture 3×2-meter artwork using the bodies of two female bodies. He still keeps the piece in his collection, as it marks the start of his unique body painting method.
If you’re wondering how Albert Zakirov paints with human bodies, the process is quite straightforward. He usually starts by smearing the body of his human paintbrush with oil, to make the cleaning process easier, then smears various body parts with acrylic paints, picks up the person, and applies them to the canvas. Zakirov doesn’t use the model exclusively, sometimes adding his own touches to the artwork, but he claims that the unique brush transfers a sort of energy to the painting.
“When I lift a woman, energy is exchanged during the interaction of two bodies,” Zakirov claims. “Idea, color composition – everything comes together during the process. Before the arrival of the model, I do not know what I will paint on the canvas. I don’t prepare in advance, the models inspire me.”
Interestingly, the Kazan-based painter says that he never selects his human brushes. They find out about him through acquaintances, from local galleries, or from the news, and they contact him. There is no audition or casting process.
In recent years, he started asking the women to wear ski masks over their faces, to avoid personal problems. Even if they are interested in being used to create art, their boyfriend, or future boyfriend may not share their enthusiasm, so concealing their identity prevents any future misunderstandings.
Albert Zakirov only uses women as paintbrushes, mainly because they are lighter, but there was one time between 2008 and 2009 when he used a couple of dancers, a man and a woman. He was thin, and his body was very elastic and graceful.
According to the Russian artist, the abstract paintings he creates with human brushes are sought by art collectors from Russia and various other European countries.
