Artist David Cata quite literally has his family in the palm of his hand – after STITCHING them into his skin with a needle and thread.
The 21-year-old uses his body as a canvas by embroidering stunning portraits of his loved ones into his hands.
His palm portraits make up a project titled ‘Overexposed Emotions’ which illustrates how much the members of his family, including his girlfriend, Tamara, are woven into his life.
Each eye-watering artwork takes about four hours to complete, after which David, a music student and artist, films himself picking the stitches out of his hands.
And remarkably, an outline of each face is still visible in the picked flesh of his hand – but there is surprisingly very little blood.
David, from Veriero, Spain, says the process doesn’t hurt because it is only superficial, but admits that pain wouldn’t bother him anyway.
“Every person we meet makes us in some way,” he said. “Their image projects onto us, reminding us where we come from.
“By sewing into the palm of my hand I paint the faces of the people that have left their mark on my life: family, friends, partners, teachers.
“Their lives have been interwoven with mine to build my history. Pain is no boundary.”
Each portrait uses different coloured threads and intricate techniques to capture the resemblance of each individual family member.
But it is clear that the most detailed work goes into the eyes and mouth.
So far, he has stitched the likeness of his brother, Javier; his grandfather, Cata; his Aunt, Fe; his father; his girlfriend, Tamara; his grandmother, Josefina; his friend, Carlos; his teacher, Ciuco and many more.
David has even stitched a self-portrait which he has blown up and superimposed over his own face to show the incredible likeness.
