oliver michaels assembles new architectural landscapes from dissected dwellings

oliver michaels assembles new architectural landscapes with dissected dwellings
images courtesy of oliver michaels

for his series of architectural composites, brooklyn-based artist oliver michaels deconstructions our urban fabric and reassembles it, forming new structural landscapes that are both surreal and familiar at the same time. his ‘square in a square’ series sees monochromatic scenes of seemingly ordinary streetscapes, with the subject of the image situated in the center of the frame. rather than a regular home that might occupy the plot, michaels’ fictitious, digital visualizations are made from many different buildings, pieced together into a single structural form. diversity between the set of dwellings is created by the varied placement of architectural details, materials and ornamentation.

in the making of the architectural composites, michaels begins by capturing hundreds of site-specific photographs. ‘I start by taking a series of walks around an area, or a road trip where I gather images of the surrounding architectural details,’ michaels says. ‘I then work with the stock images in photoshop to create a sculptural remake of the trip so that the structures reflect the feeling of the places I’d been to; it’s my version of themed restaurants.’