MICHAEL LEWY
Now more than ever.
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The Lone Earth

Inspired by Science fiction B movies and television, I began making these self-portraits at the start of the covid 19 pandemic.

I was never attracted to monsters as a kid. It was only later in life that I became fascinated by them. As I started to make these monsters, what interested me the most was their asymmetry and imperfectness.

We live in a world that celebrates beauty and perfection. Monsters are the opposite of this; they represent failure. Being a middle-aged man, I identify with them. As we get older, we watch our bodies decay and youth disappears. This transformation happens slowly, unlike the quick dissolves that we are used to seeing in films. As we age, we become invisible in a world that only appreciates beauty and success.

The Lone Earth

I have been photographing miniatures for years, and this project emerged from a desire to translate the abstraction of landscape painting into photography. Using very small miniatures allowed me to construct and photograph scenes quickly. Some of the materials I used include plaster, clay, acrylic paint, and, at times, Photoshop’s generative AI to add elements like water.

I am interested in creating images that evoke both expansive landscapes and a sense of emptiness and loneliness. The resulting photographs feel like scenes from a sci-fi film that never existed, capturing a desolate beauty that feels timeless yet strangely familiar.