Artist says he used a computer-generated photo for his official ID card

A French artist says he fooled the government by using a computer-generated photo for his national ID card.

Raphael Fabre posted on his website and Facebook what he says are the results of his computer modeling skills on an official French national ID card that he applied for back in April.

The image is 100 percent artificial, he says, made with special-effects software usually used for films and video games. Even the top of his body and clothes are computer-generated, he wrote (in French) on his website.

But it worked, he says. He followed guidelines for photos and made sure the framing, lighting, and size were up to government standards for an ID. And voila: He now has what he says is a real ID card with a CGI picture of himself.

He told Mashable France that the project was spurred by his interest in discerning what's artificial and real in the digital age. "What interests me is the relationship that one has to the body and the image ... absolutely everything is retouched, modified, and idealized. How do we see the body and identity today?" he said.

In an email, he said that the French government isn't aware yet of his project that just went up on Facebook earlier this week, but "it is bound to happen."

Before he received the ID, the CGI portrait and his application were on display at an Agora exhibit in Paris through the beginning of May.

Now, if the ID is real, it looks like his art was impressive enough to fool the French government.