Dmitry Shad is a fine art photographer and body painting artist whose work explores the boundary between the human and the demonic — transforming living bodies into otherworldly beings through elaborate body paint, dramatic lighting, and hours of meticulous craftsmanship.

Trained in medicine, Shad brings an anatomist’s precision to his process — each figure is sculpted through layers of paint and shadow before being photographed. The resulting images draw on the visual language of Renaissance portraiture and classical dark art, yet are rooted in something deeply personal: the inner demons we all carry.

His series “Under the Black Sun” has been exhibited internationally across 30+ countries — from a solo exhibition at Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art to digital installations on thousands of billboards across Europe, Australia, South Africa, and the Americas through the Artcrush program. His work has received multiple first-place awards at WPE Awards, gold medals from FIAP, PSA, VAPA, and IAAP, and other international awards and nominations.

Everyone lives with their own demons. People are afraid of them, avoid them… But I want to show their dark beauty. We can learn to embrace our inner demons. Otherwise, they will consume us.