kristián mensa fuses dance with quirky illustrations to explore the majesty of nature

Kristián Mensa uses his body to create art

Dancer and illustrator Kristián Mensa explores the human body’s boundless potential for expression with In Our Hands. The series fuses illustration and photography as Mensa captures his body’s intricate shapes and movements, interpolated on screen with playful drawings that depict the majesty of nature, its creatures, and the impact of human activity on our plane. From interlocked fingertips transformed into the head of a manta ray, to a delicately pointed foot fusing into a galloping horse, In Our Hands revels in the transformative power of the imagination.

In Our Hands fuses fuses dance with whimsical illustrations | all images courtesy of Kristián Mensa

dance & illustration interpolated in whimsical compositions

Through the motions of his own body and the beauty found in nature, Kristián Mensa uncovers a profound harmony between the human form and the natural world. His whimsical exploration of the two mediums of dance and two dimensional art, accompanied by a choreographed video with animated illustrations ‘remind us that we are not above nature, but a vital part of it’. In one composition of In Our Hands, the artist renders a closed fist gradually unraveling to an open palm that transitions into a flower, while another depicts the artist bending backwards to form an arching bridge over a stream. 

‘Bee Kind’: interlocked hands and arms render a quirky pollination

the series depicts the majesty of nature and its creatures in a comical expression

‘Dear Deer’

dancer and illustrator Kristián Mensa explores the human body’s boundless potential for expression

‘Elep-hands’

‘Manta Rays’

‘War and Worries’

the artist bends backwards to form an arching bridge over a stream

‘Horsepower’

two whales captured in the palm of the dancer’s hands

‘Shoulder Boulder’

project info:

name: In Our Hands
designer: Kristián Mensa (Mr. Kriss)

photography: Daniel Kunc

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom