She breathes life into still works using human canvases

CAIRO - At first glance, the Cairo art installation appears to be a mural in red and purple hues, of three people at a table. Then, one of the subjects pours bright pink paint from a teapot into a cup. Another lights a cigarette, and the scene comes into focus.

The installation, called After Dinner, was Cairo-based artist Chanel Arif's latest venture into living, breathing art.

Arif uses humans and their surroundings as her canvas, creating what at first appear to be two-dimensional paintings using fluid brush strokes and playing with light and shadows.