Italian pencil artist Marco Mazzoni‘s work goes far beyond technical perfection. His representation of historical healing women is enigmatic and sublime. Often leaving the eyes blank or covered with an abundance of birds, butterflies and flowers, he gives the impression of a deeper inward focused sight, as well as obscuring the identity of the individual. Many female healers in the past – both medicine woman and midwives – were brutally persecuted by religion, some even burnt as witches… Mazzoni’s work captures their deep connection with nature and their innate power and femininity with delicacy and beautiful detail.

A woman in a maid costume serves customers the Maid Coffee Shop in the Akihabara District October 23, 2005 in Tokyo, Japan. The Akihabara District is known as the world's biggest electrical appliance and equipment town, but recently this area has also became famous for having many shops delivering products and healing services by employees in the costume of maids and animation characters. Some popular shops include coffee, hair salon and massage shops where females deliver services dressed as maids. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

A woman dressed in a dirndl, a kind of traditional Bavarian clothing, jumps into Lake Schlier on July 30, 2006 in Schliersee, Germany. The event called "Dirndlfliegen" ("Dirndl Flying") was sponsored by a local fashion store and a big Austrian Dirndl manufacturer. While these kind of events had been held in Austria before, this was the first of its kind in Germany. 29 women and one man wearing a wig participated in the event that held a new Dirndl as the grand prize. (Photo by Andreas Leder/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Belgian film-maker and artist Vincent Bal stumbled upon an uncanny resemblance to an elephant in the shadow of his tea cup. This gave him the idea for Shadowology, a series of doodles that interact with the shadows of simple, everyday objects: a banknote, some ice cubes and a flower, for example, can turn into a church, a woman and a hippy. “I draw a few lines and I get my image. It’s really the shadows that inspire me”, Bal says. Here: “Stonedog”. (Photo by Vincent Bal/The Guardian)

A biker shows his 12-year-old cat “Chiquinho” – which always rides with him on his motorbike – in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 19, 2016. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

Photographer Joana Choumali’s latest project explores body image and beauty by documenting the men building Abidjan’s clothing models. The “Awoulaba” mannequin is a customised model designed with the African ideal of beauty in mind, curvier than the stick-thin examples usually seen in the west. They first appeared in 2011, and have since become a familiar sight outside the numerous clothing shops dotted throughout Ivory Coast’s capital, Abidjan. Here: An apprentice lines up his work on a roadside. (Photo by Joana Choumali)

One glance at the 3D models created by Rebeca Puebla is enough to realize that this artist has a soft spot for BDSM. The finely detailed model of a nun with heavily tattooed hands and a ball gag in her mouth or an Asian woman in a latex suit of a horse leave no doubt about it. At first, Rebeca Puebla has started out as a traditional illustrator. However, in later years she became a 3D character artist for films, TV, and video games. Though she has many regular-looking 3D models and illustrations, many of her works are quite controversial featuring 3D models of ladies in latex suits or wearing Nazi uniforms. (Photo by Rebeca Puebla)

Mah Chan, a Long Neck Padaung hill tribe woman weaves a scraf for sale to tourists in a small village where 30 familes live July 13, 2006 in Chiang Dao, Thailand. All the Long Neck villages are set up for tourists and just over a year ago the hill tribe members were hand picked to move closer to Chiang Mai from more remote communities so that they could be more accessible. The Padaung women famously wear brass rings around their necks, beginning at five-years-old, to distort the growth of their collarbones and making them look like they have long necks. They are originally from eastern Burma near the Thailand border. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)