Tarini’s process begins with a search for the exact photographic match to a classic painting, focusing on how a cinematic face might inhabit a historical canvas. By using a striped masking effect in Photoshop, he weaves together the physical brushstrokes of Kahlo’s original work with the photographic reality of Hepburn. The result is a composite portrait where the stripes create a rhythmic tension, making the viewer’s eye jump between the painted primate and the photographic gaze.

The artist describes the final assembled face as something akin to a Picasso portrait—a deconstructed yet cohesive entity. There is a deliberate simplicity in the execution, relying on layers rather than heavy editing to preserve the integrity of both sources. Against a backdrop of tropical leaves, the animal and the woman share a space where the boundaries between mid-century Hollywood and Mexican folk art dissolve into a singular, graphic pattern.