photographic illustrator josh dykgraaf will make you do a double take with his intricate, seemingly animate artworks depicting birds and animals made from flowers. the collection of images forms part of his ‘terraform’ series, a body of work which sees the melbourne-based artist merge photographic images of flower petals and leaves with animals such as pangolins and parrots. ‘I enjoy being able to create a sense of wonder,’ dykgraaf says. ‘my work comes from a curiosity about the world and enjoyment of creating things, playing with perspective and illusion.’

josh dykgraaf

 

 

in terraform, dykgraaf rebuilds elements of the earth into familiar fauna — the culmination of countless hours of exploration, both literal and artistic. while traveling the world, dykgraaf developed a photography bank of thousands of landscapes and textures, which he has used to create works such as ‘kulu’ — a curled pangolin made using leaves and magnolia flower petals — and ‘bunyjul’ — a frilled dragon made from protea flowers. ‘the conceptual development of this series as being a lot like staring at clouds in the sky and seeing all kinds of shapes and forms,’ he continues. ‘technically, I work with the idea that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

josh dykgraaf

josh dykgraaf

josh dykgraaf

josh dykgraaf

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

flower petals form fantastical exotic animals in josh dykgraaf's painstaking photomontages

 

 

project info:

 

artist: josh dykgraaf

series: terraform