Iranian photographer Hossein Zare is an absolute master at creating spectacular photos that depict otherworldly and surreal scenes. Through a combination of photography and digital manipulation in Photoshop, Zare creates powerful images that look as if they come from dreamscapes, with recurring motifs such as ladders that stretch endlessly into the clouds, expansive and barren fields, sprawling cities, and a lone figure wandering through these strange landscapes in search of something.
Zare often flips landscapes in his images, creating a strong sense of symmetry as well as warped reality. Skyscrapers extend from both the ground and the sky; an upside-down beach mirrors the dry desert ground; a solitary man observes the glittering metropolis beneath him while sitting on a swing that’s attached to a field in the sky. Such striking compositions and use of perspective add to the surreal nature and drama of the photos, raising further questions about the intriguing narratives that unfold in the images.
