Wired UK - 11.2019

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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