Will Body Scans Be the New Selfies?
By now we’re all familiar with the many ways people like to preserve their image. From selfies to Facebook photos with friends, we’re borderline — okay, totally — obsessed with taking pictures. The latest artistic approach to this obsession comes from an artist who is celebrating individuality with full on body scans.
Kurt Hörbst’s portrait project, titled “People_Scans,” turns humanity into a collection of visual input where no detail is left behind. Each subject lies down on a white background, while Hörbst moves his camera via a rail system above them, taking one photo every six inches or so. Later, he stitches the photos together using Photoshop, creating a high-res, life-sized portrait capturing every last tiny detail about each individual.
This isn’t the first time Hörbst has taken photos in this way. He’s used his methodical approach to photograph landscapes, focusing on each single grain of dust and drop of dew. Hörbst told Slate, “Over the course of this project, it occurred to me that it would also be interesting to use this scanning process on human beings as a way to work with human surfaces.”
He’s continued the project around the world, focusing primarily on the people in cities in Germany and Austria. The striking quality of the images, especially when viewed one right after another, highlights just how unique we all are, while also being so similar when held under the right light and the same conditions.
What do you think of this photography project? Would you like a full body scan of your own? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
(h/t Slate)