Cal Redback

Innovative French photographer Cal Redback, based out of Paris, comprises super realistic juxtapositions of plants and human beings. His surreal, somewhat disturbing imagery explores the relationship between nature and individual, and seemingly the fragility of the human body and spirit through poetic compositions and montages.

With his sharpened skills in digital photography and retouching, and an interest in the manipulation of the body--his latest series, Treebeards is a collection of portraits that deform and reform individuals with the natural world. This union of the human face and plant life, with half or parts of the features removed and replaced by the wild growth of greenery is unlike anything that came before it. The collection depicts incredibly realistic and human-like figures — eyes, noses and mouths are delineated with exact and precise dimensions, scale, shading and perspective blended with such detail it looks defiantly hyper-realistic. It's hard not to stare closely.

One singular redefining image titled ‘Herbraiser’ continues the theme with a disturbingly realistic impression of a female face growing thorns in the same way a bouquet of roses she holds would. Overall, the metamorphosis of mortal characteristics into alternate botanical life forms unite two categories of existence into one, bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘human nature’ as a seemingly new species of hybrid creatures.

When we asked for a quote to describe his recent work, he said only this: "There's a difference between somebody who wants you and somebody who would do anything to keep you. Remember that."

Enough said. The imagery speaks for itself.