Australian artist Polixeni Papapetrou trends the line between fantasy/theatre, mythology/reality, archetype/play, male/female, child/adult and animal/human. As with all her work the series The Dreamkeepers tells a story that includes her autobiographical relationship with her children, but it also says a lot more about the condition of childhood - its place in our culture and how we react to images of children in photography.

These adorable images of new born polar bears are bound to warm the hearts of even the biggest Ba-humbugs this Christmas. The stunning collection of photographs, taken over the space of ten years, manage to capture the tender bond between both mother and child as they emerge from their den for the very first time. Here: a Polar bear with its cub. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News)

Using body paint and a woodland like location, Gesine appears to have created a model to look just like a red panda, Dortmund, Germany, October, 2016. An artist brings animals to life using body paint and contorted models. At first glance, these images could be mistaken for portraits of wildlife in their natural habitat were created with paper and paint. However, they are actually the incredible works of illusion by talented body painter Gesine Marwedel, who paints models to creates realistic animals. (Photo by Gesine Marwedel/Barcroft Images)

Magnetic Woodlands Wallpaper by Sian Zeng. This magnetic wallpaper will bring fairy tales to life in a child's room. Magical woodlands wallpaper in toile style printed in England with eco friendly inks on paper from sustainable forests. Roll dimensions : 52cm X 10 M Length. Repeat size: 53cm half drop. Magnet receptive liner: 61cm width (no pattern repeat) 2x5m roll a total of 10m. The magnet receptive liner is pasted onto the wall first with pre-mixed wallpaper paste. Once it has dried the Woodlands Wallpaper is pasted on top to create this magnetic woodlands wall.

“These are the stunning images of some of Americas most breathtaking churches – all of which are abandoned. Matthew Christopher travels around the United States taking shots of its most beautiful decaying wonders. He shot those in his churches series in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he works as a photographer and lecturer. Matthew’s fascination with such abandoned spaces started when he was a child when he enjoyed looking at artwork set in buildings that have since decayed”. – Caters News. Photo: St. Boniface Church, Philadelphia Pa. (Photo by Matthew Christopher/Caters News)

Joshua Hoffine, based in Kansas City, Mo., and a self-proclaimed “Horror Photographer”, is interested in the psychology of fear. In his project “After Dark, My Sweet”, Hoffine’s surreal and staged images render these fears visible with the “visual grammar of a child”. Through elaborate sets, costumes, makeup and fog machines, Hoffine’s children act out these terrifying scenes in front of his camera. Here: “Basement”. (Photo by Joshua Hoffine/The Washington Post)

A UFO enthusiast who found himself locked in the iconic Roswell museum has shared the pictures he took with aliens to pass the time. Chris Burton, from the U.K., had dreamed of visiting Roswell, N.M., since he was a child but was stunned when he found himself locked in the International UFO Museum and Research Center during a recent trip. The 42-year-old used the unique opportunity to get interactive with the usually out of bounds exhibits and set up some funny snaps with the extraterrestrials – posing for a beer with one alien and taking a nap with another. (Photo by Chris Burton/Caters News Agency)

An Afghan child practices walking with his new prosthesis at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), orthopedic center on September 10, 2011 in Kabul, Afghanistan. After more than 30 years of war and a decade since the 9/11 attacks in the United States, thousands of Afghans, both military and civilian, continue to pay a heavy price from the conflict. The ICRC center makes prosthetics for amputees and helps them, as well as Afghans with spinal injuries and children with congenital birth defects, to learn to walk. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)