The golden age of supermodels might be behind us, but Instagram is a new(ish) platform that allows thousands of aspiring models the opportunity to strut their stuff in front of their followers. And the popular ones? Well, they make it to the big time. But keep an eye on who you’re following, because, as this story shows us, we never know WHO (or WHAT) we’re actually looking at.
This is Shudu, and she’s got a look that has many gawking at her. She’s amassed over 45,000 Instagram followers in a very short period of time, despite not having that many pics up on the site. Her photos have been picked up by countless other channels, including Fenty’s own Instagram page!
Shudu has a very enchanting appearance, one that borders on perfection, which explains why she stands out among so many other aspiring models on Instagram. She can credit a lot of her appearance (at least in photos) to photographer Cameron-James Wilson.
But Shudu isn’t like most Instagrammers. She’s not even like most women. Why? Because Shudu, despite her popularity, doesn’t actually exist. She’s completely CGI! The photographer behind her, James Wilson, calls Shudu his “creation.” Pretty creepy or weird, right?
Wilson sought out to create a model that represented darker skin tones, but has suffered some understandable critical backlash for not finding an actual, human model to represent that look, rather than creating one like a mad scientist at his computer. While some are mad, others are simply impressed and curious.
Wilson’s inspiration in creating Shudu was the “Princess of South Africa” Barbie doll, which makes a certain amount of sense, considering that she’s almost as flawless as a doll, complete with eyes that appear captivating and lifeless at the same time.
Wilson calls his unorthodox approach “Virtual Photography,” but, again, many take issue with the fact that he’s creating digital representations of the “perfect” human form rather than promoting a less perfect but authentic real human woman. I guess he wanted to break away from the norm that badly. Shudu’s not the first virtual model the world has seen, however.
This is Miquela, and she’s got 625,000 Instagram followers, despite being quite a bit more fake-looking than Shudu is. She’s not only a star on Instagram but also the face of a brand. It looks like there are two fake models out there, but a trend could be emerging!
Wilson has sought, with Shudu, to blur the line between fantasy and reality, but many are insistent that digital models just aren’t something the world needs right now. That hasn’t stopped him from putting his creations forward, and people seem to be eating up every post from his creation.
So the next time you’re Instagram following someone you don’t know personally, you might want to think twice and give an extra pass over the “person” in the photos, because there’s a growing chance that what you’re looking at may not be a person at all, but rather the digital creation of a very imaginative photographer.