Body Painting: Art or Nudity?

By Adeyemi Moronfolu

The body, as we know, is God’s artwork, but with colours and creativity, it is turned into a masterpiece. In Nigeria, the most common type of body painting is the Henna Art or Henna tattoo. The Kanuris in Borno State make use of it as a special way of beautifying themselves by making use of Henna dye. Henna was once popular among women in the southern part of Nigeria. It is used during a pre-marriage ceremony known as The night of henna.

Body paint or body painting has been a form of body decoration in many countries in Africa, which is radically different from tattoos or all other forms of body art. Body painting is more than art; it is a depiction of emotions using colour, it is an expression of freedom using art. To some tribes, it is cosmetics, while to other tribes, it is for religious practices. Body painting also takes shape in the form of other paintings, such as face painting and Henna tattoos.

The body was always used for the designation of the social status of the person and their religious beliefs. Tribal body art could be put on for a certain time, usually for one or two days. Some people decorated their bodies only for important public events. At the same time, there were tribes where paint was applied to the body every day to show their social status.

Body painting is as old as Art itself, as it has been in existence among some tribes in Africa, Asia, South America and the rest. Skin was considered a pure canvas, which could be used for writing pictures for a long time in Africa. This opinion has still remained in this continent.

In the Western world, body painting is art at its peak. It has grown more commercial; artists are now being employed professionally as body painters, and there are also galleries and exhibitions to display body paintings. Recently, a Nigerian lawyer turned Artist was employed by Beyoncé to help do body painting artworks for her Lemonade video. Body painting is also a powerful tool for gaining attention, especially during protests, yet at the same time, it can be turned into a disguise; for instance, the military uses body paint for camouflage.

Be it for fashion, art, celebration, festivals or ceremonies, if you are going for body paint, ensure it is done by a professional. You should know that body painting is time-consuming; it is not unusual for a full body painting to take about 10 to 12 hours. Most traditional makeup techniques are incredibly messy and time-consuming, and also ensure that only high-quality, graded materials and paints are used on your body. The main accessories are brushes, sponges, alcohol, palette, a bottle of water and, of course, body colours, which sell in specialised shops. Ensure that the colours used aren't toxic and safe.

Before work, be convinced that you have an idea of what you want to draw and the concept that you want to depict. Make several sketches. Pressure on the skin has to be moderate, but not too light, as it can have the effect of tickling. Body painting doesn’t have to be faithful; if you notice you are having allergies to some of the materials, stop immediately. For those with wounds and broken skin, applying foreign colours and objects to the open skin is surely not a good idea.