Extra Not So Terrestre : The Art of the Extraordinary in the Everyday
A master of visual subversion, Sacha Goldberger plunges us into a universe where the extraordinary meets the everyday with “Extra Not So Terrestre”. This photographic series, both fascinating and offbeat, blends the worlds of science fiction and retro nostalgia in a visual homage rich in both depth and humor.
The idea for this series was born almost by chance. Sacha once discussed with a model maker the idea of creating the Roswell alien. A few months later, while on vacation in Brazil, an unexpected phone call reignited the project: the model maker, during a summer break, decided to bring this otherworldly being to life. Thus, the hands and head of Roswell were created, sparking a two-year creative journey.
Rather than merely nodding to science fiction, Sacha Goldberger chose to reinterpret the alien invasion with a touch of madness. In “Extra Not So Terrestre,” the Roswell creature invades Earth aboard intergalactic colanders and transforms men into cacti with its ultrasonic hair dryer. The alien seduces all the women present in a typical 1950s motel. This series blurs the lines between reality and imagination, questioning our perception of the unknown.
Each photograph is a meticulously calculated freeze-frame, a scene from a film that exists only in the photographer’s mind. This series transports us to a world where UFOs materialize in retro settings, where aliens interact with domestic objects, and where each image tells a part of a larger story.
Far from being limited to parody, this series celebrates the influence of science fiction on popular culture while paying homage to the great classics of the genre. Cinematic references like Mars Attacks! and The War of the Worlds intertwine with literary inspiration from Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, one of the artist’s favorite works.
The creation process of “Extra Not So Terrestre” resembled a true cinematic production. Sacha Goldberger’s team, comprising 35 people, set up an outdoor studio in California to shoot in natural light, complemented by meticulous post-production work. This blend of authenticity and technology gives each image an exceptional visual quality, grounded in reality yet elevated by imagination.
Ultimately, “Extra Not So Terrestre” is not just a series of photographs. It is an exploration of what it means to be “alien,” a reflection on otherness and nostalgia, and proof that art can still surprise, delight, and provoke thought. With this work, Sacha Goldberger demonstrates that it is still possible to create grand photographic productions without sacrificing artistic vision to the uniformity of digital outputs, maintaining a strong and personal artistic perspective.
“Extra Not So Terrestre” is much more than an homage to science fiction: it is an invitation to rediscover the world from a different perspective, to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and to be carried away by a story as strange as it is familiar.
Carole Schmitz
Website: sachagoldberger.com
Instagram: sachagoldberger
