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Oliver Curtis: The photographer who turns his back on the world's most famous landmarks

Oliver Curtis: The photographer who turns his back on the world's most famous landmarks

Photographer Oliver Curtis has captured a new perspective on the world's landmarks.

The show is entitled "Volte-face" and will be shown at the Royal Geographical Society in September 2016. Taken over a period of four years, Curtis has created a series of photos that manage to capture the intense atmosphere of world landmarks without picturing them once.

Curtis explained how the idea first occurred to him on a visit to the Great Pyramids of Giza:

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 ... I found this visual sandwich of contrasting colour, 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.

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, Beijing, China

Picture: Oliver Curtis

Mona Lisa, Paris, France

Picture: Oliver Curtis

The Reichstag building, Berlin, Germany

Picture: Oliver Curtis

Great Wall of China, China

Picture: Oliver Curtis

Stone Henge, UK

Picture: Oliver Curtis

Statue of Liberty, New York City, USA

Picture: Oliver Curtis

Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

Picture: Oliver Curtis

The Parthenon, Athens, Greece

Picture: Oliver Curtis

The Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Picture: Oliver Curtis

The Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel

Picture: Oliver Curtis

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Picture: Oliver Curtis

The Hollywood sign, California, US

Picture: Oliver Curtis

Lenin mausoleum, Moscow, Russia

Picture: Oliver Curtis

'Volte-face' will run 19 September - 14 October 2016. More of Curtis' work can be found here.

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