Caribbean born artist Benoi Bottala won with this model in the airbrush category at the 2017 World Body Painting Festival. (Photo by Didier Messens/Getty Images)
By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Aug. 1, 2017: A Caribbean-born artist returned this year to the World Bodypainting Festival in Klagenfurt, Austria and won first place in one of the top categories.
Guadaloupe-born artist Benoi Bottala, known as Steek, won first place in the Airbrush category at the 20th World Bodypainting Festival  – after coming in third last year.
Bottala’s model featured a national headdress of his country his the model’s body was painted in the colors of the French flag – a lot of blues and reds.
Bottala, 34, is  a self taught artist who got into the graffiti world in the late 90’s. He lives between Montréal and Guadeloupe and much of his body art is influenced by Street Graffiti.
He has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in Canada (Montreal), USA (New-York Pool Art Fair 2012), Caribbean (Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Guadeloupe) and France (Fondation EDF – Prix du Graffiti).
In 2010 he was introduced to bodypainting. In 2016 he ranked 3rd place at the World Bodypainting Festival that year. He has also won many other awards globally.
