THE BEAUTIFUL ILLUSION OF PLACE NOW

TRINA MERRY

People appear to disappear in Trina Merry’s mind-blowing artworks. It is all a beautiful illusion.

Merry, a fine art painter and photographer, meticulously paints her models’ bodies, so that they blend into their surroundings. Each person’s distinct features fade away, fusing torsos, arms, legs, and faces with the landscape.  

Reminiscent of artist Liu Bolin’s work, Merry’s images turn human bodies into a kind of trompe l'oeil expression. The viewer’s eye is tricked into not seeing distinctions between where bodies begin and end in relation to their surroundings.

Places become people -- while people become places. In a way, Merry creates the illusion that the environment is comprised of human emotions and memories.

Merry began creating works in which she blended human figures into scenes around New York.

She later devoted several series to iconic landmarks and landscapes. Her Sweet Land of Liberty series placed the painted models famous settings in and around Washington D.C.

In her most recent series, Lost in Wonder, Merry painted and photographed model Kyle James in front of each of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Usually, when tourists take photos of landmarks, they are focused on its architectural or natural iconographic features. But Merry is interested in the relationships between people and these places. She is focused on the history and culture of the native people.

Some models look serene and timeless, as if their physical forms existed long ago. Some take dynamic poses, mimicking the shapes of both organic and manmade structures. 

As we look at Merry’s works, with images of places we know well, we are swept up into not only the visual illusion, but we come to appreciate the blurred the line of reality for the model.

Read more about Beautiful Illusions, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including 10 Films Featuring The Beauty of Illusions Now, These Rainbow Places Are Not Beautiful Illusions See Them Now,The Beauty of Illusive Still Lifes Now and The Art & Science of Illusion Now.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Trina Merry. Lost in Wonder. Easter Island- Ahu Akivi.
2. Image: by Trina Merry. White House - Embrace. Sweet Land of Liberty Series.
3. Image: by Trina Merry. Freedom Tower. Sweet Land of Liberty Series.
4. Image: by Trina Merry. Washington Monument. Sweet Land of Liberty Series.
5. Image: by Trina Merry. Jefferson Memorial. Sweet Land of Liberty Series.
6. Image: by Trina Merry. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Lost in Wonder Series.
7. Image: by Trina Merry. Petra, Jordan. Lost in Wonder Series.
8. Image: by Trina Merry. Colosseum, Italy. Lost in Wonder Series.
9. Image: by Trina Merry. Machu Picchu, Peru. Lost in Wonder Series.
10. Image: by Trina Merry. Great Wall of China. Lost in Wonder Series.
11. Image: by Trina Merry. Chichen Itza in Mexico. Lost in Wonder Series.
12. Image: by BN App - Download now!
13. Image: by Trina Merry. Lost in Wonder. Stonehenge in the UK.