Step into one of Darel Carey’s art installations and you’ll quickly lose your sense of the room’s actual dimensions, your confused eyes tripping over illusions of ridges and voids that aren’t really there. Using nothing but roll after roll of black electrical tape, Carey transforms ordinary spaces into disorienting, graphic landscapes that seem to shift as you look at them.

Sure, there are easier ways to achieve similar effects – plastering the walls with printed wallpaper, for example, or projecting the images. But Carey prefers the meditative process of hand-taping his designs, and he says the spaces often take shape of their own accord.

Carey calls his method ‘dimensionalizing,’ and notes that it was originally meant to be highly temporary. He’d step in, work intuitively within the space and record himself creating the installation. The resulting images and time-lapse videos were sometimes the only evidence these alternate reality rooms ever existed, since they’d sometimes be taken down within mere hours. Now, he’s working toward installations that last a little longer, like his room at the Museum of Selfies in Los Angeles.

The time lapse videos are fascinating in their own right as Carey “bends space” simply by changing the direction of the tape as well as altering its width to produce the illusion of topography on smooth, flat surfaces.

The work may look mathematical in nature, but Carey tells New Element Art that his work is “mostly organic and freestyle. And the only mathematics involved is naturally applied.”

“I like it when people say they lose their orientation in the space. Because it lets me know that my dimensional lines are doing their job and giving the mind and eye something to ponder.

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The mathematical precision of the patterns cut into raw fruits and vegetables is almost too perfect to be real, but on top of that, Japanese artist Gaku has to work as rapidly as possible to capture a photo of the finished product before it starts to turn brown. Imagine how hard that is with apples and avocados! ‘Mukimono’ is the Japanese art of food carving based in the idea of taking time to appreciate food before it’s consumed. But while many people are dazzled by the elaborate carvings, others are disturbed.

Clearly, it takes a practiced eye and a steady hand to deftly carve out each temporary masterpiece, especially considering that the patterns are so perfectly sized and spaced, they could be computer generated. Gaku says he learned the art five or six years ago, and that he’s a chef by trade, but rarely gets to use his carving skills at work.

You could say it’s too beautiful to eat – or maybe you’d say it’s terrifying. Buzzfeed rounded up a bunch of hilarious Twitter reactions to the work, ranging from “This kind of pisses me off and I don’t know why” to “I want to punch this food.” Perhaps these folks have undiagnosed cases of trypophobia (irrational fear of holes), intensified by the fact that it’s something you’re supposed to put in your mouth?

https://twitter.com/millenniumofme/status/838572502632783872

https://twitter.com/LotusDreaming/status/838080090328137729

This is terrifying

— big naturals kirby (@polearmguy) March 6, 2017

This kind of pisses me off and I don't know why https://t.co/Wh8VSpb2wg

— Melkie ? 6.2 Spoilers (@MelkieAntilles) March 5, 2017

https://twitter.com/LaFilleUneFunke/status/838482143072378880

See more of Gaku’s work on his Instagram.

Abstract geometric paper-based sculpture may seem like an unlikely medium for the expression of scientific principles, but when the artist is also an engineer, there’s an underlying layer of meaning lost on the casual observer. It’s okay if you don’t get what these pieces represent: Matthew Shlian’s tessellations are beautiful to look at, impressive for both their intricate forms and their precision.

Shlian has a new show called Telemetry currently up at Florida Gulf Coast University as part of the FGCU Art Galleries’ third year of Crossroads: Art and Science Residency and Exhibition. Founder of the Initiative Artist Studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the artist creates large-scale installations as well as drawings, and frequently collaborates with scientists at the University of Michigan.

“As a paper engineer, my work is rooted in print media, book arts and commercial design,” says Shlian. “Beginning with an initial fold, a single action causes a transfer of energy to subsequent folds, which ultimately manifest in drawing and three dimensional forms. I use my engineering skills to create kinetic sculpture which have led to collaborations with scientists at University of Michigan.”

“We work on the nanoscale, translating paper structures to micro folds. Our investigations extend to visualizing cellular division and solar cell development. Researchers see paper engineering as a metaphor for scientific principles; I see their inquiry as a basis for artistic inspiration. In my studio I am a collaborator, explorer and inventor. I begin with a system of folding and at a particular moment the material takes over. Guided by wonder, my work is made because I cannot visualize its final realization; in this way I come to understanding through curiosity.”

Modern tattoos are less about sailors, pin-ups and ‘MOM’ and more about bold black lines, complex geometry, architecture, esoteric imagery, glitches and even blacking out entire body parts to cover up old work. These standout themes represent some of the most visually striking, imaginative and artistically challenging styles gaining popularity in recent years.

Black & White Snake Tattoos by Mirko Sara

Alone, white ink isn’t the greatest choice for a tattoo, according to many artists: it looks splotchy and uneven on all but the clearest, most evenly pale skin, fades quickly, and has a tendency to disappear into a blurry mess within a short period of time. But if you’re willing to get it touched up often to maintain it, it can be really beautiful, and it sets off black ink beautifully. Take the work of artist Mirko Sata for example – whose most common subjects are intertwined snakes.

Blackout Tattoos

What do you do when you’ve got a large number of old tattoos you want to get rid of? Laser surgery is an option for the removal of smaller tattoos, but some people get beyond that whole ‘permanent’ aspect of inking the skin in a different way. Blackout tattoos are growing increasingly popular, blocking out large areas of the body with solid swaths of black ink.

Though the lines from the old tattoo still tend to show through, and several painful sessions are often required, the look can be pretty incredible. Some people get blackout tattoos on virgin skin just for the dramatic effect. Tattooers working in this style include Chester Lee of Oddtattooer, Alex Arnautov, Simon Mora, Josh Stephens and Kenji Alucky.

White Ink Over Black Work

Fresh white ink applied over healed blackwork can also be a fun way to cover up old mistakes, and the contrast is pretty incredible right after it’s applied. Subjects have to sit for as many as five sessions to go over the white ink to make it opaque enough to stand out, and it can take years to finish a single piece. Artists who have experimented with this process include Esther Garcia, Nathan Mould, Ruslan Batyrbaev and Wayne Fredrickson.

Architectural Designs

Architecture can be a particularly striking tattoo theme, especially when it takes up large areas of the body. Artist Maxime Buchi of M-X-M has tattooed traditional Russian architecture across people’s backs, arms, legs and chests, and someone loved Haight Ashbury enough to get imagery of the famous San Francisco intersection inked onto their body by the tattoo studio of the same name. Dmitriy Tkach depicted a Victorian house with roots wrenched from the ground like a plant, while Wang Lei designed an intricately shaded classical church. Thieves of Tower, appropriately enough, often tattoos spindly towers onto their subjects.

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Modern Markings 42 Bold Black White Tattoo Designs

Working primarily in bold, black ink, these 13 top tattoo artists working in Kyoto, London, Berlin, Kiev and throughout the United States stand out for geometric and illustrative styles that put the emphasis on line work. Whether they prefer minimalist compositions or cover entire torsos with amazingly intricate shapes, they create living works of art that are literally walking advertisements for their talent.

Thieves of Tower

North Carolina-based tattoo duo Houston and Dagny aka Thieves of Tower have developed a distinctive style, often covering large areas of the body in sweeping landscapes full of stark architectural details. Legs might become a diptych of bold black lines contrasted with clouds, and spires rise from a cityscape stretching across a chest.

Lisa Orth

Frequently working in Los Angeles and traveling around the country, Seattle-based artist Lisa Orth works in a dark, graphic style reminiscent of old woodcut prints and etchings.

Maxime Buchi

Working primarily out of Sang Bleu studio in London, Maxime Buchi (better known as M-X-M) is a modern master of both medieval etching styles and geometric work, often combining them for an intricate and instantly recognizable result.

Thomas Hooper

If you’re looking for amazingly detailed patterns, Thomas Hooper is your guy, tattooing tiny geometric shapes that come together into astonishing tapestries of imagery. Hooper is based in Austin, Texas at Rock of Ages tattoo. s

Grace Neutral

Want to get tattooed the old-fashioned way? Hand-poking has gotten a bad rep because it’s so accessible to amateurs, but there are masters of this ancient craft who choose to work without machines professionally. Check out Grace Neutral, who has gotten incredibly proficient at the process over the years.

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Permanent Markings 13 Tattoo Artists With Bold Black Style