Strategically Placed Mirrors Transform the Human Body Into Surreal Contortions

Cool Mirror Photography

Photographer Lin Yung Cheng, aka 3cm, bends reality in his series of mirrored portraiture. The images feature human figures, their faces obscured, whose limbs are doubled with the addition of a mirror that is pointed on the ground or resting on their body. The results are bizarre contortions that transform the subjects into alien-like figures—an effect that is as intriguing as it is eerie.

“My photography style is more like surrealism,” Cheng tells My Modern Met, “but I would like to define it as ‘the surrealism in reality.’ A mirror is an extension of reality that allows the body to enter another body and be twisted and rebuilt.” His style is informed by poetry, and it plays an important role in the creative process. “Through reading,” he explains, “the imagination and the emergence of poetry/words are combined with my life experience, which leads to the creation of my works.”

In addition to mirror photography, Cheng divides the body in another way. Using a marker or two, lines are drawn on the human figure to create triangles, circles, and rectangles which have the effect of flattening the figure.

Scroll down for more of Cheng’s surreal photography and then follow his work on Instagram.

Lin Yung Cheng bends reality in his surreal mirror photography.

Mirror Reflection Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Cool Mirror Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Mirror Reflection Photography

Cool Mirror Photography

Cool Mirror Photography

In addition to using mirrors, Cheng flattens the body by drawing lines onto the limbs.

Cool Mirror Photography

Cool Mirror Photography

Surreal Mirror Photography Distorts the Body Into Alien Beings

Surreal Mirror Photography Distorts the Body Into Alien Beings

Lin Yung Cheng: Instagram | Facebook

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Lin Yung Cheng.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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