Lori Nix's tabletop photography

Artist Lori Nix builds incredibly detailed tabletop worlds and photographs them, from visions of disaster to glimpses of insect life. Her most recent collection, The City, depicts hyperreal decay and abandonment in an urban setting. It's currently on display at Randall Scott Gallery in Washington, DC. Seen here is a piece from that series, titled "Library." Link to Lori Nix's site, Link to Cool Hunting's behind-the-scenes video (Thanks, Lindsay Tiemeyer!)

[#1 posted by Patrick Dodds , February 12, 2008 11:39 AM]

Crikey - like the Chapman brothers but with talent.

[#2 posted by nicheplayer , February 12, 2008 12:22 PM]

Reminds me a lot of the photos from the *actual* decay at the Detroit Public Schools Book Repository:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetjuniper/sets/72157603302647339/

Some great shots.

[#3 posted by misteraitch , February 12, 2008 12:36 PM]

There are several artist/photographers doing fascinating work in this and similar veins: see also Kim Keever, Didier Massard, Charles Matton, James Casebere, Edwin Zwakman, Oliver Boberg, David Levinthal and Corinne May Botz.

[#4 posted by hellhead , February 12, 2008 12:41 PM]

That is cool.

[#5 posted by Dustin Driver , February 12, 2008 1:42 PM]

Gorgeous. I love it. Makes me want a model city in the basement, like Maitland in Beteljuice.

[#6 posted by hangelbr , February 12, 2008 1:53 PM]

This reminds me of this Vergara photo of the
Camden Library. I agree with Misteraitch Re: Corinne May Botz, whose book The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is quite excellent.

[#7 posted by SpicyMeatSandwich , February 12, 2008 3:19 PM]

I thought something looked very odd about the photo. Just knowing her technique makes it un-enjoyable for me because, it looks so fake. Photchops look better. Schmeeeeeeeeeee!

[#8 posted by mellowknees , February 12, 2008 4:40 PM]

These are incredible. I can't imagine how long it must take her to build each set. I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time with assorted dollhouses and stuff I've collected over the years...but, wow, this puts my ideas to SHAME!

@#7 - I think you might be missing the point of the whole thing. "Photchops" does not look better.

[#9 posted by FAC33 , February 12, 2008 5:00 PM]

#6 - that was my first thought as well.

[#10 posted by leicster , February 13, 2008 5:11 AM]

Amazing! I wonder how much she charges to set up HO Scale train sets.

[#11 posted by Anne K. , February 13, 2008 6:11 AM]

This reminds me of the Thorne rooms at the Chicago Art Institute (and other museums) or Collen Moore's Fairy Castle at the Museum of Science and Industry (also in Chicago).

http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/fairy_castle/Fc_home.htm

[#12 posted by Halloween Jack , February 13, 2008 7:20 AM]

That diorama should be called "Tree's Revenge."

[#13 posted by Mikey Likes BoingBoing , February 13, 2008 8:15 AM]

I wonder if I could commission Lori Nix to do a similar hyperreal decay and abandonment piece of artwork, set inside a megachurch...?

[#14 posted by uberchet , February 13, 2008 4:33 PM]

FYI, Nix's show at the Randall Scott Gallery apparently ended in December. I wrote to request a Tuesday appointment to see the work (I'll be in town briefly, but they're appointment-only on Tuesdays), and Mr Scott gave me the bad news.

He did say they've got one or two still there, but the show itself is over.