‘Volte-face’ by British photographer Oliver Curtis, consists of pictures taken in the opposite side, instead of the landmark. The inspiration hit him in 2012 while visiting the Pyramids of Giza. He turned around and looked in the direction he came from, and was so fascinated by what he saw that from then on, he has never forgotten to turn around at some of world’s most photographed historic sites and monuments.
Curtis says, “After walking around the base of the tomb I found myself looking back out in the direction I had arrived from, with the pyramid behind me. Intersecting the horizon under a veil of smog lay the city of Giza. Immediately in front of me and under my feet, the sand of the desert was adorned with an assortment of human detritus; litter, pieces of rusted metal, a large rubber washer and a torn hessian sack… I found this visual sandwich of contrasting color, texture and form intriguing not simply for the photograph it made but also because of the oddness of my position; standing at one of the great wonders of the world facing the ‘wrong’ way.”
Collections of Volte-Face:
1.Taj Mahal, India
2.Christ- The Redeemer, Brazil
3.Wailing Wall, Jerusalem
4.Mona Lisa, Louvre, Paris
5.St. Mark’s Square, Venice
6.Hollywood, LA
7.Great Wall of China, China
8.Reichstag, Berlin
9.Angel of Independence, Mexico
10.Parthenon, Greece
11.White House, Washington DC
12.Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK
13.Eiffel Tower, Paris
Image Source: Wikipedia
14.St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
15.Monument of Democracy, Bangkok
16.La Moneda Palace, Chile
17.Buckingham Palace, London
18.Colosseum,Rome
By: Archa Dave