Artist breathes life into paintings, literally!

At first glance, this Cairo art installation appears to be a mural in red and purple hues, of three people at a table. Their eyes are blinking, and that's when you realise they are actually real. The installation, called 'After Dinner', was Cairo-based artist Chanel Arif's latest venture into living, breathing art. Arif uses humans and their surroundings as her canvas, creating what at first appear to be two-dimensional paintings using fluid brush strokes and playing with light and shadows. The child of Saudi and Iranian immigrants to the United States, Arif first signed up to study make-up and body art in Los Angeles last year. After returning to Egypt, she relied on friends, who offered their bodies and time, to experiment with. Inspired by American artist Alexa Meade, the concept is new in Egypt's contemporary art scene, where artists can struggle to engage conservative audiences. Arif created the installation over a period of six days, giving a boost to Egypt's creative scene