Heliopolis (2024) Photograph by Steven Irwin

Heliopolis is a contemporary digital photomontage inspired by the architecture and energy of New York City, particularly the phenomenon of Manhattanhenge, when the setting sun aligns perfectly with Manhattan’s street grid. Layers of urban photography, distressed textures, and abstract graphic elements are combined to create a cityscape that appears suspended between reality and memory.

Warm amber, gold, and rust-coloured tones echo the dramatic light of Manhattanhenge, flooding the city with an almost mythical glow. These luminous colours contrast with cooler architectural forms, creating a visual tension between permanence and transformation. Fragmented surfaces and weathered textures suggest the accumulation of time, while geometric structures emerge and dissolve within the composition like traces of a constantly evolving metropolis.

Influenced by New York’s unique relationship with light, scale, and human ambition, Heliopolis reimagines the city as a modern “City of the Sun” — a place where architecture, atmosphere, and memory converge in a moment of fleeting illumination.

Details:

• Photograph on Paper
• From a limited edition of 25
• Size: 60.96 x 91.44 x 0.25cm (unframed) / 50.8 x 81.28cm (actual image size)
• Signed and numbered certificate of authenticity
• Style: Abstract
• Subject: Architecture and cityscapes