Thomas Jackson's "Emergent Behavior"

Objects that end up in locations where they don't belong and look out of place, while also creating a surreal touch, that is what Thomas Jackson, an American photographer and sculptor, based his series of photos on.

Jackson places objects of common use (mugs, post-it notes, etc) on natural or urban backgrounds, obtaining a result of intriguing pictures.

The project is called 'Emergent Behavior' and revolves around the exploration of uncontaminated locations where he develops his surreal installations, as bearer of the concept of fascination towards the organization of natural systems, such as swarms of bees or birds, represented by inanimate objects.

As they float in the air, silent, our initial perception of them changes.

The peculiar effects of his work stands out by themselves, without the use of any photo-manipulation program, and are only the result of his outstanding installations.

One of the meanings of the project is also to capture the right instant, showing the connection between the life of a man and nature.

"I'm interested in our complicated relationship with the natural world, especially as it exists on a subconscious level. As much as we claim to revere nature, I think that beneath the surface it scares us. Maybe not for the same reasons it did our distant ancestors, who had to worry about being gobbled up by predators, but because it's an affront to our sense order. Nature is chaotic, messy and unpredictable, and that makes us feel anxious", Jackson explained of his inspiration.

"Swarms, which can be so beautiful, yet disconcertingly weird, seem like an apt representation of that subconscious fear. I chose to create the swarms from cups, cheese balls, marshmallows, etc.

as a way of inverting the viewer's perspective on these natural phenomena. In my alternate reality, nature imposes its sense of order on man, instead of the other way around. "