Quirky Artist’s New Ingenious Mashups of Two Totally Different Photos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Creative director and Instagram star Stephen McMennamy sees the world differently from the rest of us. For him, seemingly disparate people, places, and things are the recipe for his playful mashups that create fictitious hybrids from unlikely fusions. His popular #ComboPhotos series features two images spliced and carefully positioned together so that they produce one believably unbelievable form.

In McMennamy’s wild imagination, anything is possible. An elephant trunk sprouts a leafy palm tree while an electric guitar is an unlikely bridge into a bustling metropolis. His bold color and mastery of Photoshop creates the illusion that these juxtapositions could be real. We, for one, would love to see his idea of bacon on a popsicle stick come to life.

Since we first marveled at his work in 2015,  McMennamy has ventured into the world of video. Check out some of his hilarious motion pictures that bring the wittiness of #ComboPhotos to life. And if you want to see his unpolished “fails,” he’s recently made a second Instagram account called @combophotofail.

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Stephen McMennamy combophotos

Here are a few of McMennamy's combo videos:

#Combophotos: Website | Instagram | Tumblr

All photos via Stephen McMennamy.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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