For many adults, spending hot summer days enjoying popsicles in the backyard was a quintessential part of childhood. Picking out a box of the frozen treats from the grocery store with Mom or going to the gas station with Dad to choose an individually wrapped bar could easily become the highlight of an entire day. Photographer Michael Massaia captures both the bliss and short-lived nature of the frosty treats in his photo series Transmogrify.
The 36-year-old photographer scrounged up throwback ice cream bars – many of which are styled after popular cartoon character faces – and let them melt in his studio as his shutter clicked. A black background and studio lighting cast the popsicles in a dramatic setting, allowing us to appreciate artistic details of swirling colors that would otherwise go unnoticed.
While abstractly artistic, the mesmerizing patterns and distorted faces created by the melting popsicles can also be symbolic. The images evoke nebulous memories of long-gone, simpler days, and the disintegrating shapes remind us that childhood has slipped away.
Above: Neapolitan Sandwich
Sonic the Hedgehog
Spongebob
Dora the Explorer
Batman
Spiderman
Bugs Bunny
