Cristina De Middel’s madcap new site turns her portfolio into an absurd tabloid

Cristina De Middel’s photographs tend to mix fact and fiction. Doubling as photojournalist and artist, she often reimagines documentary-based projects with humour and an offbeat sensibility. A shining example of this is her series The Afronauts, which tells the peculiar story of the Zambian space programme in the 60s, and was nominated for the 2013 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.

Headed up by designer Guillermo Brotons, the recent redesign of her website gives her work a fittingly outlandish home. The homepage takes the shape of a tabloid, a format that makes sense in light of Cristina’s experience working for various newspapers. It is also telling of the journalistic approach she takes to her mostly fictional works. The series of bizarre and hilarious headlines across the homepage rather deliberately have no relation to the projects they click through to. “They add an element of improvisation and absurdity that felt very De Middel,” explains Guillermo. Abundant with gems like, “The Big Foot Diet!” and “Boy Bands Are Making Our Kids Gay,” it’s both brilliantly designed and totally madcap.