Watch celebrated artist Alexa Meade transform a live model into a seemingly two-dimensional tableau.

Reversing the tradition of trompe l’oeil, the Renaissance painting technique in which objects appear real, Alexa Meade painstakingly applies acrylic paint onto actual people and objects, creating illusions of seamless, two-dimensional portraits. Unified by bold brushwork reminiscent of mid-20th-century painting styles, her subjects appear flattened, as if painted on canvas, even when viewed from different angles. Meade’s work invites a deep exploration into the nature of perception, the role of photography in viewing ephemeral artworks, and the sudden intimacy of portraiture.

Alexa Meade’s living paintings have been exhibited at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, The Saatchi Gallery in London, and the Pinacotheque Museum in Paris.