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Kylie Knott

Emma Hack started off as a face painter but on advice from her teacher kept on going.
“In my teens I was face painting children and decided to study makeup artistry. My teacher suggested I try painting the whole body and I loved the results, so entered competitions and worked hard on my style of this art form,” says the Australian artist.

In 2011, Hack gained global exposure following her work with Australian-Belgian singer-songwriter Gotye on his music video Somebody That I Used To Know.
Today she is a leader in modern body art, her works shown in galleries worldwide, including Hong Kong, where her solo show, “Chinoiserie”, is being held at The Cat Street Gallery in Tai Ping Shan, Central, until September 12 (she also staged a solo show in 2013).

Works called Yin and Yang feature the delicate positioning of her muses as porcelain busts interacting within her painted backgrounds, and explore the beauty of Hack’s Asian neighbours.


“I choose the theme of the exhibition and what I want to say or have the viewer consider. I then paint the background to suit where the model will be positioned within the artwork. I go into the studio and body-paint the model for eight to 15 hours.

“If it is a camouflaged work, the model has to stand in position the whole time as I paint her to match – the viewpoint is through a camera I check regularly. If there is a bird in the work, they arrive as I am finishing, [and] I then photograph the results.
My life: Emma Hack
“I usually create each work as soon as I finish the [previous] one. There is usually a lovely flow through the collection this way and I can better each work technically as I work, focusing on the strength of the last work.”






Still live: body art with a Chinoiserie theme at Hong Kong gallery

Detail from Emma Hack’s body-art work Yin from her Chinoiserie show at the Cat Street Gallery.

This handout image shows Works by Emma Hack in the Chinoiserie’ show at the Cat Street Gallery until sept 12. Photo / HANDOUT [06SEPTEMBER2016 FEATURES FASHION & LUXURY]

This handout image shows a model at the opening of Emma Hack’s show Chinoiserie’ at the Cat Street Gallery until sept 12. Photo / HANDOUT [06SEPTEMBER2016 FEATURES FASHION & LUXURY]

This handout image shows Emma Hack at the opening of her show Chinoiserie at the Cat Street Gallery until sept 12. Photo / HANDOUT [06SEPTEMBER2016 FEATURES FASHION & LUXURY]

A model at the opening of Emma Hack’s show Chinoiserie at the Cat Street Gallery in Tai Ping Shan.

A detail from Emma Hack’s body-art work Yin.

Detail from the body-art painting Yang by Emma Hack, from her Chinoiserie show at The Cat Street Gallery.

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Emma Hack’s models take as long as 15 hours to paint, during which time they have to stand in position in front of the background; in new works Yin and Yang, her muses appear as porcelain busts
