The underbelly of fetish parties has been exposed in photographs captured by Belgian photographer MagLau. The photographer dedicated three years to capturing the obsession with leather and chains, visiting fetish parties through Europe and Japan. The photographer told: “I just took pictures, always finding some beauty in the dark side”. He said that most people were happy to be photographed for the project, with the images included in a new book Fetish Ballad. Aiming to capture the candid moments, he said he never judged but instead wanted to simply observe and understand. Here: Picture from Fetish Ballad book. (Photo by MagLau/Laurent Muschel)

The knitted sculpture “William Tell” by Patricia Waller sits in the “Broken Heroes” exhibition at the Deschler Gallery on April 26, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition of hand-crocheted comic, puppet and cartoon figures shows icons of pop culture in various unfortunate states. (Photo by Adam Berry)

French sculptor Pierre Matter was born in 1964. “A mystical child, then a tormented teenager, he studied mathematics half-heartedly. It was only logical that he headed naturally, though initially in an erratic manner, for the mysterious universe of artistic creation. His slow progression in this field led him to try out many kinds of expression and material, from oil to gouache to ink, from comic strips to canvas, and also bas-relief in stone.”

A cosplayer poses for a photograph during the Comic Market 90 (Comiket) event in Tokyo Big Sight on August 12, 2016, Tokyo, Japan. Many manga and anime fans wearing cosplay lined up in the sun for the first day of Comiket. Comiket was established in 1975 and focuses on manga, anime, gaming and cosplay. Organizers expect more than 500,000 visitors to attend this year's summer event which runs for three days until August 14. (Photo by Aflo/Splash News)

A person dressed as an astronaut walks past a man stopping traffic on a pedestrian crossing outside the Sydney Exhibition Centre September 13, 2014 where the science-fiction convention called “Oz Comic-Con” is currently being held. The two-day convention showcases “pop culture”, and includes appearances by actors from science-fiction movies and television shows. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

German Oliver Struempfl competes to set a new world record in carrying one liter beer mugs over a distance of 40 m (131 ft 3 in) in Abensberg September 7, 2014. Struempfl carried 27 mugs over 40 meters to set a new record for the Guinness book of records. (Photo by Michael Dalder/Reuters)

Photographer Loes Heerink spent hours waiting on bridges in Hanoi to capture the street vendors who walked underneath. She recently launched a Kickstarter project to publish a book of these images. Here: “In Hanoi there are a lot of street vendors who roam the city with their bicycles trying to sell goods, from vegetables to flowers”. (Photo by Loes Heerink/The Guardian)

Visitors, wearing face masks, enter the Disneyland theme park in Shanghai as it reopened, Monday, May 11, 2020. Visits will be limited initially and must be booked in advance, and the company said it will increase cleaning and require social distancing in lines for the various attractions. (Photo by Sam McNeil/AP Photo)