2023
While editorial and commercial photographer Laurent Chéhère is known for reportage as well as his award-winning work on campaigns for fashion labels and car companies, his “Flying Houses” series has earned acclaim all over the world.
The Paris-born Chéhère began to create the extensive “Flying Houses” series in 2007 as a result of his interest in architecture, travel, the work of Bruce Davidson and films such as Albert Lamorisse’s The Red Balloon and Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl's Moving Castle (several pieces are named for movies).
The collection of Surrealist images, in which buildings are removed from their backgrounds and then suspended in the sky as if permanently airborne, began with drawings before Chéhère photographed each of the works’ individual components and created montages in Adobe Photoshop.
Chéhère worked in advertising, winning awards for his work with iconic brands such as Audi and Nike. Always fascinated by photography and travel, a shift in interest led him to leave advertising behind to travel around the world. In addition to the fantastical films and other visual works that have captivated him over the years, the inspiration for his popular series is firmly rooted in walks through neighborhoods in Paris — it’s an endeavor to strip buildings of their surroundings and give each structure the chance to have its own individual narrative.
“I tried to highlight buildings to show their hidden beauty,” he told Musée. “I wanted to eliminate their anonymity in the street to help them tell their stories, real or not, funny or sad.”
Each of the poetic and whimsical “Flying Houses” images is a composite that comprises a dozen actual buildings, homes, tents and trailers that Chéhère photographed in similar lighting conditions and completed with computer software.
Chéhère’s “Flying Houses” series debuted at the Exposition Biennale des Créateurs d'Images in Paris in 2012, where he won the event’s Special Award. His work has been featured in many galleries, including the Galerie Paris-Beijing in Paris, the Lumiere Gallery in Moscow and the Muriel Guépin Gallery in New York City.
Find original Laurent Chéhère photography, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Vertigo - Contemporary whimsical digital photo montage of a flying house
By Laurent Chéhère
Located in New York, NY
Laurent Chéhere, a French photographer born in 1972 in Paris, makes images of flying houses and other dwellings that are informed by his wanderings in the hidden neighborhoods of Par...
Photographic Paper, C Print
Crepuscule - Contemporary whimsical digital photo montage of a flying house
By Laurent Chéhère
Located in New York, NY
Laurent Chéhere, a French photographer born in 1972 in Paris, makes images of flying houses and other dwellings that are informed by his wanderings in the hidden neighborhoods of Paris and by his love of cinematic history. Most of his photographs carry references of forgotten stories, Parisian neighborhood and architecture and pay a tribute to classic movies, such as "The Red balloon...
Photographic Paper, C Print
Crepuscule - Contemporary whimsical digital photo montage of a flying house
By Laurent Chéhère
Located in New York, NY
Laurent Chéhere, a French photographer born in 1972 in Paris, makes images of flying houses and other dwellings that are informed by his wanderings in ...
Photographic Paper, C Print
Moon - Contemporary whimsical digital color photo of flying house
By Laurent Chéhère
Located in New York, NY
Laurent Chéhere, a French photographer born in 1972 in Paris, makes images of flying houses and other dwellings that are informed by his wanderings in the hidden neighborhoods of Paris and by his love of cinematic history. Most of his photographs carry references of forgotten stories, Parisian neighborhood and architecture and pay a tribute to classic movies, such as "The Red balloon" or “Who are you Polly Magoo” to name just a few. The charming manipulated images, part digital, part analog depict a dreamlike world where his reconstructed houses appear to float in the sky. They are poetic and whimsical and meant for the viewer to make his very own story. About "Moon" by Laurent Chehere: "I recreated the first film studio in France by Georges Méliès in 1897 in the suburb of Paris. Director, illusionist, inventor of many special effects, he has notably realized "the trip to the Moon...
Photographic Paper, C Print
Solstice - Contemporary whimsical digital color photo of a flying house
By Laurent Chéhère
Located in New York, NY
Laurent Chéhere, a French photographer born in 1972 in Paris, makes images of flying houses and other dwellings that are informed by his wanderings in ...
Photographic Paper, C Print
3 Samourais - Contemporary whimsical digital photo montage of a flying house
By Laurent Chéhère
Located in New York, NY
Laurent Chéhere, a French photographer born in 1972 in Paris, makes images of flying houses and other dwellings that are informed by his wanderings in the hidden neighborhoods of Par...
Photographic Paper, C Print
"Dive In" - photography montage, digital collage, abstract photography
By Shannon Davis
Located in Atlanta, GA
This listing is for an unframed print. Limited edition of 7. Atlanta-based multi-media Artist and photographer Shannon Davis’s “Conversations in Motion” is a series of digital compo...
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Heterotopia #97 Limited Edition Chromogenic Print Surreal Photography
By Karine Laval
Located in Brighton, GB
'Untitled #50' from the series Heterotopia is a dazzling Chromogenic Print by Contemporary photographer Karine Laval and is available in this size in an Edition of 5. The vividly c...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Heterotopia #10 Limited Edition Chromogenic Print Surrealist Photography
By Karine Laval
Located in Brighton, GB
'Untitled #10' from the series Heterotopia is a dazzling Chromogenic Print by Contemporary photographer Karine Laval and is available in this size in an Edition of 5. The vividly c...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Mirages #4. Architectural Landscape. Limited Edition Photography
By Javier Rey
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Mirages. The idea of the monumental, utopian and modern city is constantly debated due to its own fragility. The idealization of the city is weak and vulnerable, threatened by the ru...
Color, Archival Pigment
Heterotopia Untitled #74 Chromogenic Print Limited Edition Abstract Photography
By Karine Laval
Located in Brighton, GB
'Untitled #74' from the series Heterotopia is a dazzling Chromogenic Print by Contemporary photographer Karine Laval and is available in this size in an Edition of 5. The vividly c...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Mirages #10 Landscape architectural abstract color limited edition photography
By Javier Rey
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Mirages. The idea of the monumental, utopian and modern city is constantly debated due to its own fragility. The idealization of the city is weak and vulnerable, threatened by the ru...
Color, Archival Pigment
