Ben Turnbull’s Real Life Superheroes

British artist Ben Turnbull's most recent collection of work, Supermen - An Exhibition of Heroes, is an exploration of idealised superheroes within pop culture comics and the real, heroic acts of everyday citizens. Turnbull's exhibition was inspired by the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, and commemorates all the firemen and policemen that served during this event. His creations are based on the visual vocabulary of an entire generation of superhero lovers. This time, however, the heroes are based on real American citizens rather than fictional characters.

The works serve as a bridge between collective fantasy and harsh home truths. Turnbull delves into the idea that superheros echo the idea of a better world, but in reality this world is so far removed from the society we actually live in. Each piece has been created from cut-outs of an enormous personal collection of pre-1990 comics, including fictional superheroes like Captain America, Daredevil, The Fantastic Four, Batman, Spiderman and the Hulk.

There's certainly a take-a-second-look appeal about Turnbull's works that has a nostalga-meets-pop-culture charm, while, at the same time, working as a thought-starter.

[via yatzer]