This article was taken from the September 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
This eerie oil refinery isn't what it seems -- a closer look reveals it to be meticulously constructed from everyday objects.
The artwork was one of several created by David LaChapelle for his new book LAND SCAPE. "I wanted to use the products of oil refineries -- plastics, disposables, everyday things," says LaChapelle, 51.
The models, measuring more than 1.5 metres tall and several metres wide, were constructed over a year at the photographer's LA studio; a second collection, depicting petrol stations, was built in the forests of Maui in Hawaii. LaChapelle consulted friends who had created scale models for Hollywood films such as Titanic to help build the scenes. The pieces were then lit with LEDs and torchlight before being shot against fantastical backdrops; this one, titled Anaheim, was shot in the Californian desert.
The final refineries incorporate a vast array of plastic objects. "There are plastic containers, soda bottles, headphones, phone chargers," he explains. "So much stuff now is made to be obsolete. The waste is stunning to me."
LaChapelle wants the project to highlight society's reliance on crude oil. "Climate change is happening now," he says. "I hope the book asks the question: what do we do?"
LAND SCAPE is out on September 1 (Damiani)
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
