These Eerie Pencil Drawings Of Lips Are Much More Than They Seem

At first glance, Christo Dagorov‘s pencil drawings from his Lips series appear to be simple close-ups of human lips (for the most part). On closer inspection, though, they become something else entirely. Dark forests and aerial views of cities begin to emerge, creating a fascinating, and slightly uncomfortable new image.

Using lips as the frame brings a visceral edge to the otherwise delicate pencil drawings. The combination of larger-scale images like buildings, trees, and even human bodies creates a surreal sense that we’re looking at a landscape and a body at the same time. The textures, especially when juxtaposed with the idea of what lips generally look like, create an eerie feeling in the viewer. The city scene, with its streets, looks like cracked skin, while the soft textures of the forest look comparatively normal. The bars in Indiscretion allude to the mouth as an opening, where information and secrets can get out to be locked away.

Dagorov’s work is not just limited to lips. You can see more of his collections on his website.