( CNN ) -- It 's hard to know what 's real and what 's fake inside the worlds Justin Plunkett creates . That rusted merry-go-round-like structure in the above photo ? That 's a real-life playground in the Cape Town neighborhood of Lavender Hill . The monolithic roller coaster behind it ? A product of Plunkett 's 3-D animation skills . Fascinating ways people try to leave their mark on the world . In his recent Con/struct series , Plunkett , a Cape Town designer and creative director , has created a Mad Max fantasy world , filled with tottering skyscrapers made of refuse from a bygone era . Each of his images is the result of multiple photographs layered together with computer-generated illustrations . Plunkett had been amassing a collection of photographs taken in some of the most down-and-out neighborhoods of Cape Town . `` I had been photographing places and environments for a while with no particular agenda or plan for them , '' he says . He 'll take a tire from one , a metal container from another , the sky from a different photograph and then construct an illustrated architectural structure in the middle of it . Pointed Commentary . The series is part study in South African architecture , part deep commentary on life in the country . In one image you see a Dutch-style home ( illustrated ) , often considered to be a mark of wealth , set amongst gravel and a tattered , old sofa . In another you see an illustrated monument-like structure constructed from corrugated iron in the middle of a rubble-strewn field . Plunkett has turned this corrugated iron , which is often used to build shacks , into a thing of grand beauty . Context is key to really appreciating Plunkett 's work . People around the world pose with everything they eat in a day . At its most basic , the series addresses the idea of empowerment , and what it means in to gain it and lose it in South Africa . As a creative director who often finds himself working with corporations that shill an empty , unattainable idea of success , Con/struct was a way to spark a conversation . `` There 's an enormous gap between the realities in impoverished areas and what success actually equates to , '' he says . The ambiguous relationship to reality is what makes Plunkett 's work so fascinating . You know deep down that what you 're looking at is n't actually there , but the images do make you wonder : What if it were ? `` It 's a mash of references that are real , but they become quite fictional in the end , '' he says . `` I 'd like people to look at it and ask themselves some kind of question . Is it real or is it not ? What does it mean if it 's real or if it is n't ? That 's where it becomes really interesting . '' Thirty years after Chernobyl 's meltdown , gripping photos expose the human fallout . Why does sleeping in just make me more tired ? Why you always seem to choose the slowest line . Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2011 Wired.com .
Justin Smith , a Cape Town artist , has created a Mad Max virtual world . He layered multiple photographs , combining them with computer - generated illustration . The series is part study in South African culture , part commentary on life in the country .