Travel

These Artists Make Hyper-Realistic Dioramas of History’s Most Iconic Photos

Swiss photographers Jojakim Cortis and Adrian Sonderegger recreate history’s most iconic photos with absurdly intricate dioramas. It’s incredibly satisfying to examine the attention to detail they put into the waves of Loch Ness, the billowing smoke clouds of the Hindenburg zeppelin explosion, and the snow caps of Mount Everest made from common craft supplies like cotton, paper, and epoxy.

They’re both completely obsessed with what makes a photo iconic, working together since 2005 to painstakingly recreate pictures like Tank Man and Nosferatu’s long-fingered shadow. A single set can take as long as three months and occupy the entirety of their Zurich studio. The recreation of the environmentally disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill below was about five feet wide and 23 feet deep. After photographing every detail of their sets the artists destroy them. Their new book, DOUBLE TAKE: The World’s Most Iconic Photographs Meticulously Re-created in Miniature preserves their latest creations.

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Marilyn Monroe über dem Lüftungsschacht
Making of “The Seven Year Itch” (by Sam Shaw, 1954), 2016

Despite all the effort to make the dioramas believable, Cortis and Sonderegger playfully shatter the illusion by including their workshop and tools in the frame. Their work is fun to look at, like most good miniature art, but they often choose pictures—the Twin Towers on 9/11, JFK’s assassination, the 2004 tsunami—that carry the baggage of national trauma. Their whole practice is a statement on how much we rely on these images to understand the world, and how easy it is to fabricate them. They mostly abstain from Photoshop, preferring to pull off the mirage with their hands.

Check out exclusive images from Cortis and Sonderegger ‘s new book below.

Die Tsunami-Katastrophe von Südostasien
Making of “Tsunami” (by unknown tourist, 2004), 2015
Die Exxon-Valdez-Ölkatastrophe aus dem Jahr 1989
Making of “Exxon Valdez” (by Natalie B. Fobes, 1989), 2016
The-Clash-Gitarrist Paul Simonon zerstört seine Gitarre
Making of “Paul Simonon at the New York Palladium, September 21st, 1979” (by Pennie Smith, 1979), 2016

Watch: This Artist Recreates His Nightmares with Photography


Schwarze Athleten heben bei der Siegerehrung ihre Faust
Making of “Black Power Salute” (by John Dominis, 1968), 2017
Mao Zedong schwimmt im Jangtse-Fluss
Making of “Mao Swimming in the Yangtze” (by Qian Sije, 1966), 2016
Tenzing Norgay auf dem Gipfel des Mount Everest
Making of “Tenzing Norgay on the Summit of Mount Everest” (by Edmund Hillary, 1953), 2015
Nosferatu mit seinen langen Fingern
Making of “Nosferatu” (by Fritz Arno Wagner, 1922), 2016
Der berühmte Milchtropfen von Harold Edgerton
Making of “Milk Drop Coronet” (by Harold Edgerton, 1957), 2016
Ein Gesicht wird gescannt
Making of “Binary Scan” (by Russell A. Kirsch, 1957), 2016
Das New Yorker Flat Iron Building in der Abenddämmerung
Making of “Flatiron – Evening” (by Edward J. Steichen, 1904), 2016
Das Schlafzimmer in der Hütte von Floyd Burroughs
Making of “Part of the Bedroom of Floyd Burroughs’ Cabin” (by Walker Evans, 1936), 2016
Das Hemd von Maximilian I., der in Mexiko exekutiert wurde
Making of “The Shirt of the Emperor, Worn During his Execution” (by François Aubert, 1867), 2017
Der Angriff auf Pearl Harbor
Making of “Attack of Pearl Harbor” (by unknown US Navy soldier, 1941), 2016

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