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French Artist Creates Surrealistic Art That Shows What An Apocalyptic World Could Look Like (39 Pics)
Imagine if, what if, at the beginning of the 21st century, humanity ceased to exist, leaving room for nature to reign fully? What if the Earth was completely empty of people? For most of us, it may sound like an apocalyptic fantasy script for a new upcoming Hollywood movie. However, the idea behind Chris Morin's work is not pessimistic at all as he whisks us away to a peaceful world where humanity ceased to exist a long time ago.
The idea behind the French photographer’s work was that he wanted to visualize what a world without any humans in it would look like. Overtaken by the concept, he ended up creating a series of images called "Once upon a time, tomorrow." The digital art project that he started way back in 2012 shows several famous cities overtaken by nature with huge trees and wild animals replacing all modern technology and even overtaking the skyscraper buildings. Cities like Paris, New York, Singapore, Venice, etc. are all part of the series, and there’s definitely more to come!
More info: Instagram | morin-eitner.com
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Bored Panda reached out to Chris.
“When visiting the temples of Angkor, I was fascinated by the way nature had reclaimed the site. At the time of their splendor, the temples of Angkor were probably as imposing as are today’s gigantic buildings, modern man’s super-structures, our skyscrapers; the headquarters of our multinationals, where man affirms his domination over nature, reflecting his need to repel and control the natural environment, imposing an ultra-coded, highly controlled mineral world, designed and urbanized, often beautiful and quite pretentious.
At a time when we have become aware of the fragility of nature and are increasingly concerned about ecology, global warming, and the future of the planet, I wondered, conscious of the transitory and perishable nature of all that is human, how all these man-made super-structures would evolve in time."
"Angkor is sublimely poetic, overgrown by the forces of nature and evoking a long-lost human civilization… why not Dubai, Shanghai, New York, Paris next?… What will become of these urban landscapes, these megacities, this civilization of ours, now possibly at the height of its strength, but one day vowed to disappear, as did the Mayans or the Khmers?
My vision is the complete opposite of an apocalyptic world. I see it full of life, a kind of rediscovered Garden of Eden, overflowing with shapes and colors.
I imagine the architectural logic of right angles and wide-open spaces replaced by lush nature, growing in the most unexpected ways. A history of the town revisited, now lush and greened, ecological and Angkor-like.
Each of my images presents an iconic building, ancient or modern, in towns that I have photographed. I then rework the image like I would a painting, digitally, I play with color, shadows, textures, focus, perspectives, I add trees, animals, plants, industrial wrecks… I add all kinds of elements photographed during previous travels, that come to feed the universe I explore.”
I would like this more if everything had an appropriate amount of twilight, including the flamingoes and flowers.
