Body Painting for The Little Black Dress Project

body painting is a form of art that I've always thought about but kept hidden in the corner of my mind. To bring it closer to home, I've always been enraptured with henna art or tattoos or even just paint. I remember buying a henna cone and spending hours drawing traditional Indian patterns on my hands or for people. Art, in its many forms, has always been something that I've been passionate about. It was something that I couldn't really talk about with people.

but not till I met Sammi Lim. 

Sammi was my 'partner-in-crime' during my year at Time Out magazine and we were the only ones handling Malaysia, Penang and Kids, so we embarked on a lot of adventures together 'for the sake of art' and yes, the paycheck. We had our ups and downs but there was this one thing we've always had in common: a love for art. 

Prior to this, Sammi was a writer and body painter in New York and has exhibited her art in New York and Austria, all while maintaining a job as a writer. I still continue to be inspired by her love for the arts. 

So when she told me that she was embarking on a new body painting project called 'The Little Black Dress', I thought it would be a great opportunity to be part of it. The concept of the Little Black Dress project was to paint a series of LBDs (a staple in every woman's closet) on a few different girls to empower different body types, shed the stigma of nudity in art and to break the traditional mindset of how Malaysians viewed art. 

I was really excited when she asked me to be a part of it, coz I thought it would be cool to be the 'artist's assistant' or the photographer's assistant. Until I found out that I was asked to be one of the models. 

Hold it right there. 

To be a body paint model would mean that I had to bare my body. Part of me was super excited because, hello it's art! and of course, the thrill of doing something risqué that I've never done before. Then there was the other part (a smaller part) that was tuned into the conservative religious background that I came from. For some reason, I felt like I needed to do it. Not for the sake of art but for myself. 

I was never confident with my body. Growing up, I dealt with emotional bullying because I was picked on for being fat, I battled with horrible rounds of an eating disorder coupled with depression and the cycle continued until I left college. I did lose a lot of weight when I discovered Blogilates and followed her workouts but I was still uncomfortable. To bare my body to people other than myself was a scary thought, not because it was 'wrong' but because I feared that I would come across as ugly or fat. Indian women like me are not meant to look like chopsticks. It was time I embraced it. 

Volunteering to be a body paint model meant that I had to come to terms with the fact that my body is not perfect, that it will never be, but it doesn't mean that I can't take care of it. I saw past the fact that I had to be semi-naked in front of a photographer and artist. I saw past the fact that I might get into trouble for being 'cheap'. In retrospect, I'm glad I did it. 

Fast forward to today and The Little Black Dress Project is now exhibited at Penang's prestigious George Town Festival. I'm so proud of Sammi for all that she has accomplished in her journey as an artist. As a fellow art enthusiast and artist myself, I think this is a huge deal. When we met up for drinks yesterday, I found out that she was interviewed on TV for Astro Awani about her body painting story. Amazing!

Check out the George Town Festival details here. 

photo creds: GTF 2016
I'm on the right! (yes, with the cigarette)

The portraits will be exhibited at Chulia Court. That place brings me great memories because it was one of the places that I reviewed for Time Out Penang back when I was handling the nightlife portions. To see myself exhibited there is a surreal feeling that I know I will smile about when I'm 80 and wrinkly and incapable of any form of sensuality.

photo credits: Light Show Photography (Shahril Saifol)

Photo credits: Sammi Lim

I won't be able to make it for the exhibition this month due to the two big campaigns that I'm involved in for work, so I won't be able to see these beautiful pieces of art. If you can, do take a road trip to Penang and support the local arts scene throughout this month for George Town Festival. 

Thank you, Sammi and Shahril (master photographer behind Light Show Photography) for having me in this project. 

Through this, I hope Malaysians will be more open to the concept of nudity in art as a form of expression and not for a reason to judge people and to keep prejudices.