PHOTOGRAPHY: ALEXANDRE HAEFELI
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3D artist Ines Alpha creates digital AR-filter make-up that rebels
Beauty is in against the ‘make yourself perfect’ contours of selfie dysmorphia
the app of
the beholder
“make-up of the future”. Her work plays
with augmented reality (AR), and often
enhances the make-up people wear in
real life – adding sequinned eyebrows
for an extra layer of glamour above bold
purple eyeshadow, for instance.
When Snapchat opened up its AR
software in December 2017, allowing
people to make their own filters, Alpha
become one of its official lens creators.
She also successfully applied for
access to Instagram’s Spark AR Studio
software, which allows other people on
the app to “try on” some of her filters.
Her work draws inspiration from science
fiction, cyborgs, drag queens and the
natural world. “I am obsessed with
sea creatures, especially nudibranchs
- soft-bodied molluscs that have
extraordinary, clashing colours.”
Critics of social media filters say they
can lead to “selfie dysmorphia”, where
people aspire to look like their enhanced
digital image, with flawless skin and
huge eyes. But Alpha says her filters
are about the opportunity to play with
different versions of beauty, rebelling
against the idea that everyone should
look a certain way. “Even if people think
you look weird, it’s so important for
people to feel like they can be different.”
She believes that people are getting
increasingly concerned with appearance
because of social media, but hopes her
work will help act as a counterpoint. “I’m
not into the contouring, make- yourself-
perfect thing,” Alpha says. “I want to
have fun with beauty and play with what
people are wearing on their face. It’s
about freedom and possibilities.”
In April 2019, Instagram joined
Snapchat and opened its filter creation
software to everyone. Alpha believes
that we will see an explosion in new
filters very soon, with artists, devel-
opers and brands creating their own for
people to try on. Exhibitions about filters - Face-Up at London’s Tate Modern,
Mask Off in Berlin, and Homoinsta-
grammus in Paris – are springing up.
She says she would wear her filters
in real life if she could. “As people
are spending more time with their
digital second self, augmented reality
make-up seems as real and serious as
the internet. One day, we will be able to
see everything in AR.” Anna Behrmann
Ines Alpha creates Insta-looks inspired by
sci-fi, drag queens – and soft-bodied molluscs
Ines Alpha turns Instagram and
Snapchat filters into pieces of fine art.
Iridescent flowers bloom out of people’s
heads, sequins glint over glossy skin,
faces are etched in delicate lines of
gold, and fins grow out of flesh.
The 34-year-old Parisian collabo-
rates with models, artists and fashion
directors to create what she calls the
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