It’s Valentines Day, so here’s a photo series that’s bound to melt your heart and make you go awwwwwwww…. Beijing-based graphic designer, art director and photo retoucher Chunlong Sun exposes the softer side of notorious dictators in Celebrity. Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Mobutu Sesé Seko pose against dramatically lit backgrounds, their impassive expressions a stark contrast to what they’re holding in their arms: cuddly stuffed toys! Here’s where you say awwwwwww!
Sun had his friends pose for him in costume, photoshopping the faces of the dictators afterwards. Honestly, I find that the outtakes are almost as good than the final portraits. See more of his work here.
Images © Yulong Zhou