Zoe (2003-4) by Jason Brooks

This week I chose Jason Brooks's piece, Zoe (2003-4). when I saw this work it grabbed my attention, not just because of the body art displayed by the portrait's subject, but because of how realistic and detailed it is. I assumed, because of the level of detail, that it was a photograph, but as the text describes, this portrait is only based off a photograph (it's used as a reference). Brooks airbrushes his portraits and uses various other tools to create the texture of hair and skin (including a dentists drill). I'm not sure why I imagined it like this, but it is almost as if he is tattooing this piece of art just as the subject has been tattooed in real life. regardless of his methods, this portrait is definitely among the most engaging portraits I have seen in which the subject isn't displaying much emotion. I find this portrait beautiful : ).