INSTAGLAM: Loki Dolor’s other-worldly 3D beauty

With fans in Brooke Candy and Grimes, the artist creates futuristic make-up eyewear, jewellery and body pieces.

Stumbling across Loki Dolor’s Instagram feed is like discovering an enchanted forest crashed by extra-terrestrials. With intricate 3D makeup and surreal body jewellery drawing inspiration from unlikely places — the bottom of the ocean floor, for one! — and twisting organic shapes into unexpected new forms, Loki’s aesthetic combines futurism with a dash of elfcore whimsy.

We caught up with Loki to hear more about their inspirations, working in 3D and their relationship to social media. 

 

What has your creative journey been?

I come from a graphic design background. I learned the proper way to compose images, propose visual concepts and experiment with software. Then I realised I needed to fully create out of the screen in order to develop my personal practice.

 

How would you describe what you do?

I’m a visual artist, currently focusing on creating handmade body adornments for specific clients, often related to the fashion and the music industry.

 

Makes sense, I specifically really love the mouthpiece you created for Brooke Candy! So, you’ve previously said that your practice developed from creating masks, tell me more!

I started creating full face masks two years ago when I moved to Berlin. Thanks to the queer art scenes in the city, I had the chance to work with talented people and explore new ways of reflection and freedom. Since then, my work has been shifting around different themes such as transformation, intimacy, fluidity and embodiment. I like to think about what we reveal and what we want to keep for ourselves on many levels.

via @lokidolor

What inspires you now?

At the moment, I like to pay attention to things I can barely see with my naked eyes like microscopic organisms, emotions, undersea worlds and the inside of the body.

 

What really marks you apart is that your pieces are in 3D, what attracts you to this kind of work?

At first, I wanted to design with my hands differently, I wanted to come back to a more intuitive and sensitive practice. By experimenting with new techniques and other forms of productions, sculpting challenges me to constantly push further the limits of creation, perception and gravity. 

 

I first came across your work on Instagram, and I see you have some high profile followers – like Grimes! How important is social media for what you do?

Practically, it’s very important for staying in touch with people and communicate about my work in the way I want to. Creatively, the ideas of exposure and privacy that having an online presence invokes have always interested me. I try to emphasise this ambivalence in my own work by questioning the different realities we live in.

 

Check out Loki Dolor’s work on Instagram or at lokidolor.com

Mouth piece commissioned by Brooke Candy, Hair & Make-Up: Lara Barten, Photography: Harriet Browse
Head piece commissioned by Reverso, Photography: Dusti Cunningham
Symmetrical garments composition, self portrait
Symmetrical face garments, Photography: Jean Ranobrac, Assistants: Kam Hugh and Taishi Nakatsukasa
Cover image
Hand-Made Make-up, shot by Damon James Duke, skin by Lara Barten, Model Taishi Nakatsukasa