Close Encounter of the Insect Kind: “Check out the awesome face on this praying mantis. I can't get over the mouth, it's like something from a science fiction movie. Of all photographic styles macro is definitely my favorite. I am constantly amazed, in every photo that I take, by the intricate level of detail that exists on even the smallest of creatures. It's a stark reminder that a very complex and infinitely beautiful world exists just beyond our human-sized level of perception. Photo taken in Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia” – Andrew Young. (Photo by Andrew Young/National Geographic Photo Contest via The Atlantic)

Karl Bang's paintings are unique because he combines totally different styles of painting within the same format. It is very difficult to design a balanced composition with realistic elements that are juxtaposed with flat colors and patterns. The faces of his subjects are painted realistically in the Western tradition with subtle gradations of color; while, his figures and costumes vignette into abstracted shapes, lines, flat colors and patterns that reflect Karl's background in China. It is as though there are different visual languages being spoken within his paintings.

A team from Woody's Ice Cream shop wrangle a large inflatable dinosaur down the street during the Independence Day Parade in Fairfax, Virginia July 4, 2015. Americans marched in star-spangled parades, ran relay races, gathered for fireworks shows and crowned a new world hot dog eating champion as they celebrated Independence Day in traditional style on Saturday. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

A visitor relaxes in a sleeping module at Tokyo's tube Hotel “Capsule Inn Akihabara” on February 6, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. The two-square-meter sleep modules are equipped with a TV, Radio and Wireless LAN and are priced at 3500 yen per night. Uptil recently it has mainly been the office workers who stay at such tube hotels when they cannot go home, but recently they are attracting many foreign travellers due to their Japanese style. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Employee Sandra Jaeckel, at the photographer's request, adjusts a ribbon around the neck of a giant chocolate Easter bunny at the production facility at Confiserie Felicitas chocolates maker on April 9, 2014 in Hornow, Germany. Easter is among the busiest times of year for the chocolatier, which produces Easter bunnies and eggs in a wide variety of sizes and styles. Founded by Belgian expats Goedele Matthyssen and Peter Bientsman the company will soon celebrate its 21st year. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Ialian artist Federico Mauro latest series takes a look at iconic footwear, and its symbolic representation of the people who wore them. With everything from Steve Jobs’ New Balance 991‘s to the Nike Air Mags sported by Marty McFly in Back to the Future II on show, the minimalist series shows how closely one’s identity can be linked to a single shoe.

See also: Famous Eyeglasses By Federico Mauro / Famous Guns By Federico Mauro

Girls dressed in “Hanfu”, or Han clothing, prepare for an event to mark the traditional Qixi festival, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day, at a park in Beijing, China, August 7, 2019. Chinese for “Han clothing”, “Hanfu” is based on the idea of donning costumes worn in bygone eras by China's dominant Han ethnicity. Some of the most popular styles are from the Ming, Song and Tang dynasties. Hanfu enthusiasts doubled to two million in 2018 from a year earlier, according to a survey by Hanfu Zixun, a popular community account on the Wechat social media platform. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)