Fatescapes is a series of images by visual artist Pavel Maria Smejkal consisting of iconic photographs with their subjects Photoshopped out of them. The New York Times writes,

[…] Pavel Maria Smejkal goes a step further and forces us to reconsider the veracity of historical images and the photographer’s role by digitally removing the people that made these images resonant. What is left is the scene as it might have looked just minutes before or after the photographer passed by. These images are reminiscent of a time, before Photoshop, when photographs were believed to be a reflection of reality. Mr. Smejkal’s alterations question whether photographs should be viewed as accurate representation.

See if you can recognize each of these famous historical photographs. The answers are at the end of the post.





The photos are: Napalm Girl, Tank Man, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, Starvation in Sudan, and The Execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém.

You can find more images from the series here.

Fatescapes by Pavel Maria Smejkal (via The New York Times via The Click)