Thor

Thor (from The Avengers) by Dustysurfer

"Everyday we change our physical appearance in some form to appease a certain criteria of our own choosing or social acceptance. We change our face, style our hair, put on clothes and maybe add a few accessories before we walk out the door to greet society as “who we are,” or “ought to be.” The next step in evolving this daily ritual we all partake seems obvious; what if we were to push the boundary and exaggerate aspects of ourselves even further? What if we were to change our physical appearance to meet the criteria of something very different from daily circumstances? What if we were to pursue the fantastic and bring that to life and how would that be achieved? What if I was to change myself physically to meet the visual mold set forth by a pre-defined character? What does it take to become the god of thunder in mortal form?"

   

"This started as a simple comparison of my looks and attitude to the Marvel superhero, Thor, by various friends and complete strangers. The idea soon became the basis for this project; a physical transformation piece on a massive scale. I’ve always wanted to try an art medium that challenged me in ways I’ve never dealt with before and this became that challenge. Every aspect of my daily life had to be changed to meet this challenge. Change in diet, exercise, sleep and most important, my mental focus. To see this change become a reality I documented my physical change after each grueling workout. On top of meeting the physical transformation criteria I also build the costume based on the film to complete the appearance."

"Aside from the physical challenge I had to meet, I was also challenged emotionally, questioning why I was doing this at times and even forgetting the purpose of this art project. In the end I regained my foothold; this is about becoming something larger than ones self. This is about becoming something truly fantastic, ridiculous and strikingly impressive. If you were to challenge yourself to become something just as fantastic, who would you become?"