Welcome to the mysterious world of Placide Avantia—an illustrator, tattoo artist, and self-professed alien. Working from Fuscare—her dimly lit studio located in the south of France—Placide Avantia uses black vegan ink and her dark imagination to spawn creatures that otherwise dwell only in nightmares, alternate worlds, and untold myths. From razor-beaked crows to the jagged […]
Category: Horror
10 Imaginative Japanese Science Fiction Movies
Modern Japanese science fiction was birthed in nuclear fire at the close of World War II. It left a sobering impression of the dangers of technology that can be felt to this day, and it created a generation of directors who are keenly aware of how delicate their mortality is. Science fiction is a medium […]
Eerie, Disintegrating Bodies by Yuichi Ikehata
Yuichi Ikehata is an artist born and based in Chiba, Japan. In a series titled “Fragment of Long Term Memory (LTM),” Ikehata sculpts human bodies (or body parts) using wire, clay, and paper. Next, he photographs the sculpture and digitally adds in skin, hair, eyes, and other features. The final image is so seamless that […]
Morbid and Mysterious Illustrations by Virginia Mori
Virginia Mori is an Italian artist who resides and works in Pesaro and Milan. Using BIC pens on paper, she draws visions from a Victorian-esque nightmare; young girls wearing dark dresses and long hair, accompanied by their shadowy animal companions, are witnesses of and participants in a number of strange situations. As it often happens […]
Nightmares and Deep Emotions in Stunning Images by Diana Dihaze
Diana Dihaze is a Ukraine-based photographer and digital artist who manipulates her photos to reveal disturbing yet beautiful inner truths. Her images derive from the corners of her subconscious, arriving to her through dreams and nightmares. There is a surreal element of horror as nature and grotesque wounds cover the bodies of her subjects, all […]
Rot and Transformation: Necrorealist Art by David Van Gough
I invite you to lose yourself in the hallucinatory nightmare-worlds of David Van Gough; between the fire-spewing man-lion and the devil wearing an American combat uniform, it’s entirely possible to stumble across an esoteric symbol or two (or three, or ten). Hailing from Liverpool, Van Gough is a self-proclaimed “Necrorealist” (emerging out of Leningrad in […]
Hidden Hearts: Creepy Hollowed-Out Dolls by Mari Shimizu
Mari Shimizu is an artist from Amakusa in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, who creates hollowed-out ball-joint dolls. Each doll is unique in that the contents of their eviscerated torsos reveal different elements of horror and fantasy. In a statement provided to Illusion, Shimizu explains how “We hide our hearts from our families and friends in order […]
Disembodied Rebirth: Charcoal Artworks by Aurore Lephilipponnat
Aurore Lephilipponnat is a French artist who incorporates Japanese Butoh dance into her charcoal drawings. Her visions often comprise of female or hybrid bodies who move gracefully across the page, suspended in various stages of life, death, and decay. In an interview with Artists of France, Lephilipponnat explains how Butoh is an art form capable […]
Exploring the Unconscious: Dark Photos by Peter Zelei
For Hungarian photographer Peter Zelei, there is no “black and white” when it comes to humanity; “I believe . . . we are a very complicated mix of good, bad, darkness and light,” he explained in an interview with Citizen Brooklyn. His photographs are filled with beauty and cruelty, with scenes and scenarios that simultaneously […]
10 Horror Movies You Must See in 2017
New year, new horrors. 2016 proved a strong showing for the world’s most popular genre, but what of 2017? From indie productions to blockbusters, the strength of horror cinema and its constant reinvention means they’ll be plenty of gems among the dross. The summer brings Universal’s attempt at breathing new life into their iconic monsters […]