This week’s curator, Hussam Eissa (@hussameissa), is an editor that you might classify as a visual magician. There is something theatrical in the illusions he creates; colorful puffs of smoke, a levitation with balloons, a cloud pulled from his collar by a string, much like a rabbit pulled out of a hat. You can almost hear the “Tada!”
Other times, Hussam’s magic show seems to leave the theater stage and enter the realm of cinema, his powers reaching more extraordinary levels; dissolving his body into scattering water pellets, and even journeying through space into the heart of a black hole.
Hussam’s fascination for the unreal is nothing new for him. Growing up, he loved to entertain himself by drawing what he calls “weird portraits”, bending the rules of reality.
Born in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Egyptian parents, Hussam’s family migrated back to Egypt when he was about seven years old. Like so many people today, Hussam got into photography not because of a camera, but because of his mobile phone. He was hooked, and once he found the PicsArt app, he tried editing features right away on an artistic portrait he had already drawn. “[PicsArt] added more spirit to my work and encouraged me to do more edits.”
It didn’t take long for Hussam to translate his “weird” portrait drawing into the editing work you see here today. In some ways, his approach has not changed much, improvising each portrait as he goes, just like before when he would let his drawings come together one pencil stroke at a time. He feels his way towards his final destination.
We asked Hussam if he has a favorite type of project to work on, and he answered unflinchingly that “double exposure portraits are usually the most fun to create.” See them for yourself below along with some of his other amazing work and be sure to follow him on his profile page to see what he comes up with next!
Don’t forget to also keep one eye on the Explore section, where he’ll be curating a gallery this week.
