Iconic photographs are so visually striking and emotionally impactful that they’re ingrained into our memory. But can you still remember iconic images when the subject of the photograph is removed? That’s what this very interesting photo series, Fatescapes, tries to make you do.
Created by Pavel Maria Smejkal, the historical pictures are cleverly photoshopped so that the subject of the picture is completely removed and all you’re left with is the background. The idea is to show the setting of the picture before or after the event happened. For the images I recognised, my brain automatically filled in the empty space with the original photo from memory. It’s amazing to see that these pictures still resonate with me with or without the subject because of its history.
Check out all of the pictures without their subjects here. The picture above is of the famous Tiananmen Square Tank Man. [Photo Art Centrum via NY Times via PetaPixel]