Yes, But Is It Art?

Artist Trina Merry, from San Francisco, California, has made a dirt bike, cruiser and sports bike out of naked models covered in bodypaint.

They are completely naked except for patches covering their modesty. Ms Merry then slathers them with hypoallergenic paint, using brushes and spray-cans, partly before they pose and partly once in position. 'I suppose it started when I went to a rock concert working with an Australian band,' she said. 'They asked me to get on stage covered in body paint and I ended up doing it in front of 300 people. I started initially painting your size 8 and size 6 fashion models but have gone to paint athletes because it's actually a real workout holding the posing for 18 hours, six minutes in position and five minutes being painted back and forth. I am a conceptual artist and often I am inspired by the bodies themselves by what they can and can't do'
Her latest work features the three types of bikes that will be touring the U.S. this year with the Progressive International Motorbike Show. She said: 'Everyone has seen the pictures of scantily clad women next to motorbikes and cars and it can look a bit trashy.I wanted to take the idea of a beautiful woman and the motorbike and turn it on its head by making the bike from the bodies of the models.Nothing like this has ever been done before.'

erm........quite.