Icarus Moonward: A Self-Portrait

Photographer

Marcel van beek

Category

People Photography - Fine Art

Company

Submission Group

Professional

Year

2026

Country / Region

Germany

‘Icarus’ is a conceptual self-portrait that explores the boundary between creative ambition and personal fragility. Captured strictly in-camera, the work utilizes the ancient myth as a metaphor for the artist’s own journey through the industrial and natural ‘soulscapes’. By deconstructing the human form into a play of light and metallic textures, the image transcends literal representation. It is a visual dialogue with the self, where the desire to soar meets the cold reality of the material world, reflecting a state of transition and the search for an ‘Otherworld’.

Professional
2026
2026 MUSE Photography Winner - Temple by Mark Gray

Photographer / Company

Mark Gray

Category

Nature Photography - Landscapes

Country / Region

Australia

Amateur
2026
2026 MUSE Photography Winner - Dancing Eagles by Russell Trozera

Photographer / Company

Russell Trozera

Category

Nature Photography - Wildlife

Country / Region

United States

Amateur
2026
2026 MUSE Photography Winner - State in trance by Philipp Schmieja

Photographer / Company

Philipp Schmieja

Category

Editorial Photography - Culture

Country / Region

Germany

Professional
2026
2026 MUSE Photography Winner - Ngahuru Kotahi (the autumn one tree) by Brett Wood

Photographer / Company

Brett Wood

Category

Nature Photography - Trees

Country / Region

New Zealand