Historical landmarks can make for historically cringeworthy selfies.
Trina Merry, a New York-based artist, recently took a trip to see some of the world's great architecture. She noticed a very painful phenomenon nearly everywhere she went, which will be all too familiar to anyone who travels anywhere: Groups of young tourists were spending more time taking selfies than focusing on the art. In fact, they just “breezed by the locations to take selfies,” Merry told Mashable.
To restore some of the original grandeur to landmarks that were being diminished into "little keychains," as she put it, Merry picked up her camera. Then she, along with British model Kyle James, traveled to some of the world's most famous historic sites--Stonehedge, The Colosseum, The Great Wall of China. Once there, Merry began to take photos, using the landmarks as simple backdrops. She used body paint to camouflage her model, hoping he would blend in with his surroundings.
“I felt camouflaging a model and making him look like he was slowly disappearing was the correct choice to express what I was learning about western tourism," she said.
The results, seen below and on her website, are eerily evocative. Put down your selfie stick and take a look for yourself.
