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Dark Brasília: Photographer captures the dark side to Brazil's modernist capital city

Brasília – the capital of Brazil – is renowned the world over for being a planned city distinguished by its white, modernist architecture.

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All images courtesy of Øystein Aspelund

All images courtesy of Øystein Aspelund

Put together by urban planner Lucio Costa in 1956, with many of its futuristic buildings designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, every single element was intended to work in harmony with one another. Today, it's a World Heritage Site and is still considered to be a landmark in the history of town planning.

With liberal use of concrete, unexpected curves, geometric angles and huge-scale buildings at every turn, you can imagine it's a photographer's dream to visit the city and capture its unusual architecture. That's exactly what Norway-based photographer Øystein Aspelund recently did, but he certainly raised the bar on shooting this incredible metropolis.

His resulting portraits of Brasília's famous white buildings are a wonderful play on light. The darkness that looms in every shot only accentuates the grand nature of each structure, as they emerge from the shadows like some alien being.

All with a minimalist approach, each image perfectly highlights the modernism of Brazil's capital. We're not sure anyone can match the depth and brilliance of this perfect series. Discover more at oysteinaspelund.com.

A solitary figure stands beneath a massive curved white concrete structure that emerges from deep shadow, exemplifying Oscar Niemeyer's modernist architecture in Brasília
A solitary figure stands silhouetted against towering curved concrete structures emerging from darkness in Brasília's modernist architecture
White curved modernist building emerging from dark shadows against black sky in Brasília
Silhouette of a solitary figure standing before monumental angular concrete structures illuminated against a black sky in Brasília
Three tall concrete structures converge upwards against a black sky in Øystein Aspelund's minimalist photograph of Brasília's modernist architecture
Silhouetted figure standing on a concrete platform against a stark modernist building facade in Brasília, captured in high contrast black and white
Modernist concrete structure with sweeping curved form emerging from darkness, photographed by Øystein Aspelund in Brasília
Seven white concrete pillars emerge from deep shadow against a black background, exemplifying the stark modernist architecture of Brasília
Modernist building with curved concrete form emerging from shadow against black background, photographed by Øystein Aspelund in Brasília
White modernist curved building silhouetted against black sky in Øystein Aspelund's Dark Brasília series
A solitary figure stands before towering white modernist structures emerging from darkness in Brasília
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