“Which image are you projecting to the world?” - Makeup portraits in the Instagram era

In the Unconventional Brits series on Shots! TV, we follow the real lives of some of the most extraordinary people, hobbies and places in the country. In this episode, we see Britain’s biggest brick collection, willow tree sculptures and an artist who uses makeup to create her pieces.

Artist and Musician, Margit van der Zwan, paints portraits using her muses’ makeup collections.

Margit said: “I don’t know what I’m going to get (...) when my model turns up. Some people have cases of makeup they’ve never worn.

“A lot of people have lots of reds, and I think that’s interesting because the reds never get used. It’s a fantasy, isn’t it? Oh I’m going to be that glamorous person with the red lipstick.

“So I don’t know what the model will be like or what the medium will be. It’s very exciting.”

She said the idea originally came about when her seven-year-old daughter asked Margit to draw her. The nearest thing she had to hand was her daughter's tiny pink lipstick. So she used that to draw the portrait.

“I thought while I was doing it, as a seven-year-old, why does she own lipstick?”

Margit said her work brings up interesting themes around how we present ourselves to the world. This seems particularly relevant in an era of social media and selfies.

“Which profile, which image are you projecting to the world? But on the other hand, is it actually creating a wall between you? Are you actually showing that you’re vulnerable?”

Watch the full Unconventional Brits: Episode 40 for more unique people, hobbies and places. You can also go to ShotsTV.com or tune into Freeview channel 262 and Freely channel 565 for more exclusive series and programmes. Sign up to the Shots! TV Newsletter here to make sure you don’t miss the latest episodes and features.