The curious case of Shudu, the dark-skinned model with 39,000 followers on Instagram is utterly baffling. She is beautiful, appealing and everything you can image a supermodel is, yet the down side is that she’s not real.
Along with a male model, Nfon, Shudu is the digital creation of artist and photographer Cameron-James Wilson, crafted and posed using 3D imaging. ‘I was learning how to create 3D imagery for graphic novels and animations and I had the opportunity to create a model however I wanted,’ Cameron-James said. ‘So I created the most beautiful woman I could.’ Shudu takes inspiration from a Barbie doll, called Princess of South Africa, along with models such as Duckie Thot.
She’s tall, slim, has dark skin, and is undeniably stunning. She was shared by Fenty Beauty when she modeled SAWC lipstick – it’s not clear whether or not Fenty Beauty are aware that Shudu is not a real, human woman. It was only after an interview with Isiuwa that Cameron-James updated Shudu’s Instagram with the hashtag #3Dart.
Before that, Shudu looked like any other Insta-famous model. Her creation is impressive. Until you know she’s CGI, you won’t see anything other than a stunning model. But Shudu’s existence is attracting criticism. Many people have tweeted their disappointment that Cameron-James, a white photographer, has digitally created a dark-skinned model instead of giving a platform for real-life black women… who he’d need to pay for their work.
Cameron-James declined to comment further on why he’d chosen to create a dark-skinned model or engage directly with critical tweets. The debate over Shudu continues over on Twitter, while on Instagram people are just working out that the model they’ve been calling the most beautiful woman in the world doesn’t actually exist.
Photo Credit: Cameron-James
