The face of Dora Maar, the Surrealist photographer and tormented muse of Pablo Picasso, consists of an iron and wood bookcase. A pink plastic sieve nested in a pink plastic bowl lends depth and color to her cheek, and her trademark red fingernails are a toy fish and four silk rose petals. 

What looks like a chaotic collection of items thrown together by someone who hoards plastic is actually a three-dimensional rendering of “The Portrait of Dora Maar,” the 1937 oil painting by Pablo Picasso, the brilliant artist and Dora Maar's cruel lover. Bernard Pras, a French master of anamorphic art, is known for turning pills, plastic utensils, paper, road signs and more into unique representations of famous images, such as Vincent Van Gogh’s “Auto-portrait” and “Uncle Sam Needs You.”

Pras’ “Dora,” currently on display at the French Cultural Institute in Izmir, consists of objects he found in the flea markets of the coastal Aegean city. “It is a venue-specific work that pays homage to the great Mediterranean artist,” Caroline David, director of the institute, told Al-Monitor. “Some of the objects come from the depots of the institute. The others are from Kemeralti [Izmir’s historical bazaar]."

Pras’ tribute to Picasso coincides with a Picasso exhibition at the Arkas Art Center, across the street from the institute. “Picasso and the Art of Spectacle,” curated by Jean-Luc Maeso, brings together 83 works by the Spanish artist, some of them displayed outside France for the first time.