A magnifying glass with a realistic green eye inside it is positioned over a notepad and pen. A cup of coffee and three keyboard keys labelled “A”, “B” and “C” sit nearby on a white surface.

Philip Karlberg's charmingly expressive still-life faces are a fun Friday treat

Words: Rob Alderson
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Date: 8 February 2013; Work
Photography

We’ve obviously seen this kind of thing before, but Philip Karlberg’s still-life faces for Pay Ex are still utterly charming. Through the simple arrangement of everyday objects, Philip creates a set of oddly expressive visages which speak volumes about our capacity for apophenia – the willingness to see human characteristics in inanimate objects. Proof that once again if you hire the right kind of creative, there is no such thing as a hack topic or approach.

A collection of objects arranged on a white background to resemble a face. A gold gear and a roll of white paper act as eyes, while a grid of small black tiles forms a nose and mouth. A long gold key sits at the bottom, serving as a chin. — Above
Philip Karlberg: Pay Ex

A black tyre, a miniature Eiffel Tower and a ship's wheel with a compass are arranged in a row. Below them, a brown leather wallet holds a 20 euro note. — Above
Philip Karlberg: Pay Ex

Various telephone components are arranged on a white surface to form a face. A smartphone and a yellow smiley face act as eyes, a rotary dial serves as the nose, and a black handset forms the mouth. — Above
Philip Karlberg: Pay Ex

A flat lay of four objects arranged on a plain white background. A black-rimmed clock, a yellow pear, a gold gift box containing a piece of jewellery, and a brown leather wallet with banknotes inside. — Above
Philip Karlberg: Pay Ex

A magnifying glass with a green eye inside it is positioned over a spiral notebook and pen. A cup of coffee and three keyboard keys labelled “A”, “B” and “C” sit nearby on a plain white surface. — Above
Philip Karlberg: Pay Ex

Further Info

www.minkmgmt.com/philip-karlberg

About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

Philip Karlberg's charmingly expressive still-life faces are a fun Friday treat

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