PICS: Doctor fights skin condition stigmas with stunning body painting pieces

A talented doctor has created a series of body painting pieces in an attempt to fight stigmas around skin conditions.

Khalil Khalidy, from Gaza in Palestine, is a general practitioner studying to become a reconstructive surgeon.

The 24-year-old is also a talented artist and has recently gained attention on social media by uploading a series of images of body painting pieces he has done on himself.

From albinism and vitiligo to rarer and less known conditions such as xeroderma pigmentosum and epidermolysis bullosa, the young man uses paint and his own body to depict the often unseen beauty behind skin disorders and mutations.

“There are a lot of misconceptions and stigmas surrounding people with skin conditions, and many false beliefs,” Khalil said.

“During my studies, I found these conditions quite beautiful and aesthetically unique.

“I try to show to the public how I view them and the beauty they possess, as well as create a conversation about the condition, from the medical facts behind it to the false beliefs they go through.

“I also mention some examples of people who have used their condition to stand out as models or writers and become leading and productive members of their society.”

Khalil said many of his pieces are inspired by people he has met online or during his work as a doctor.

One of these is Mariana Mendez, a stunning Brazilian model with a black and hairy patch of skin on her face caused by a type of birthmark known as Congenital Melanocytic Naevus, or CMN.

“Each and every piece has its own value,” Khalil said.

"By doing this I have made many friends and memories, from researching and staying up all night after work, sketching and painting, to reading the feedback from the people I’m portraying and who I look up to.

“It’s something I found myself in, artists are inspired by their environment and those people are what I find as living works of art and I want the public to view them as that, not as some oddities or freaks.”

Source: Magazine Features