An Instagram makeup artist got a little too creative with his craft and ended up on the wrong side of the Internet’s books.
The MUA with Instagram name @paintdatface came under fire after he shared before and after photos of a white woman he transformed into what many have interpreted as a black woman with the aid of makeup.
The backlash his post got didn’t come as a surprise to him. If anything, he was expecting it as his caption read:‘
DISCLAIMER. I want to clearly express the sincere place I am coming from with this transformation. As an artist and visionary, I can become bored of the ‘glam’ and done-up looks that we find all over social media, my page included.
I struggle to remain challenged, and as a result of that, my posts have become more manufactured than authentic.
This is a transformation that I’ve been holding back from releasing for a while now, solely because of the fear I’ve had of people turning it into a racial scandal against me.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT A RACE CHANGE. This is about one woman acknowledging, embracing, and celebrating the beauty of another woman’s culture. I believe we live in a society nowadays that seeks any reason to stomp around town with a picket stick in their hand, fighting ABOUT something, rather than FOR something (and yes, there is a difference!).
I didn’t want this to become another reason to stir up negativity. This is, by far, the proudest I’ve ever been of my work and I’m so fortunate to have created it with @annathorsell, who trusted my vision from the very beginning.’
But it might have gotten a bit too much for him to handle because he deleted the original post.
The change of mind didn’t last for that long as he returned with another post moments later to explain that he has no regrets and is not apologetic about his first post or the work he did.
‘The transformation that I recently posted of a woman transformed into a woman of another culture has been highly criticized by those who don’t understand the message.
I deleted the post, not because I had regret or saw wrongdoing, but because of the negativity social media turned it into. It’s been assumed by most that my intentions were to transform my model into a black woman.
‘Truth is, my intentions were to keep the look vague enough to be relatable to many women of different cultures, but the true inspiration of the overall look came from my Cuban heritage.
Although I am saddened by how many people are angered, I can’t offer an apology for my artwork and for what I find to be beautiful.
‘The transformation came from a place of love and was not about mocking one’s race, but rather about celebrating it. I am so proud to be illustrating a woman representing several cultures along with their achievements, beliefs and histories.
‘Art is interpreted differently by all and sometimes it’s uncomfortable, but making this world a better place starts with our mindset – thinking positive, showing love and practicing unity,’ he wrote.
