Bill Durgin and his torsos

Bill Durgin has a rediculous idea. He has a series called figure studies, in which he uses nude models, who contort and fold themselves to appear surreal. I first saw one of his images in a magazine, and thought it was a cool idea to make these bodies without limbs etc. I thought that his work was sculptural. Now that I see its actual figures bent and contorted, I cant beleive it. Some of his images have people legs arms and head tucked in, so it appears that all is left is a square little torso. Or hell have them contort in a way to look as if part of their bodies are stuck in a wall.

The photos are simple enough, white gray blank setting, with one nude figure. Yet it catches your eyes right away. You look in disbelief at the images, trying to see if they are real or not.

Durgin is able to confuse the viewer and suspend their belief about what they are viewing, and take it as if torsos can exist in a space without any limbs. This optical illusion is extremely successful and awesome, especially since it fooled me.