Artist Embellishes Her Own Thigh With Expressive Ink Drawings

Body Paintings by Randa Haddadin

Dubai-based artist Randa Haddadin embellishes her skin with expressive illustrations. She uses a mix of paint and pens to render colorful bouquets, delicate portraits, and complex architecture on her thighs.

The ephemerality of the medium grants Haddadin the freedom to experiment in her drawings. While some of her body art looks like vivid paintings, others exhibit a looser quality, as though they are unfinished. Additionally, she often merges calligraphy, drawing, and painting to create a completely unique piece.

“My work is my visual diary,” Haddadin writes on her website. “A therapeutic journey of constant self-rediscovery, heavily inspired by my inner demons and dreams, other times inspired by cities and urban contexts, people and fashion.” After creating a spontaneous drawing on her skin, she can wash it off and reuse the same canvas—her body. “Through the whole process of creating my artworks,” she continues, “I sometimes try to heal or to grieve or simply celebrate a moment in time or an experience in which all the components of the artwork matter, from the textures of the surfaces I draw on to the materials I use to draw with, best known for my ink, coffee, and skin art.”

Haddadin has collaborated with leading brands like Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Armani, and she has been featured in esteemed publications such as Vogue. You can purchase prints and original artwork via her online store, and keep up to date with the artist’s latest creations by following the artist on Instagram.