BEAUTIFUL VIOLENCE 4

Wanderlei "THE AXE MURDERER" Silva

December 8, 2011 - Las Vegas, Nevada

A year and a half after creating the Axe Murderer series, I was inspired to push the envelope with Wanderlei. In almost all of his fights, Wanderlei is covered in his blood or the blood of his opponents and his fans love it.

I wanted to create something worthy of his fight style and his moniker. I figured if he was an Axe Murderer he’d be covered in blood, so I wanted to cover him in blood the right way. I knew a theatrical make up artist from the set True Blood and she got me some of the blood they used on set. 

Setting up a shoot with Wanderlei was easy but I needed the gym clear when I did this as it was going to be a bit graphic. In the middle of the day the gym was deserted and I got Wanderlei right after his private training and before his shower. My brother used a very small amount of the “True Blood” and some water and Wanderlei brought the violence. I didn’t tell Wanderlei the concept as I didn’t want him to think about what I was going to do. I needed him to just go with it and once it got in his eye, he went full berserk with it, rubbing it all over him and screaming while doing it.

It was beautifully violent and a true representation of what fans around the world grew to love about Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva.

This is a Limited Edition Giclée on cotton fiber paper. /  Edition Size is limited to 72 pieces.

The image Size is "16x20" / Approximate framed size “24 x 28”

Artwork will be signed by photographer Eric Williams.