Gifs are taking over the internet, and that’s not always a good thing. Entire conversations are carried out in the form of animated images, replacing words with snippets of out-of-context pop culture. But it’s hard to deny that they can be totally mesmerizing – especially when they’re as surreal as this. Science student Hugo Germain, known as Graphonaute, has truly elevated the gif to an art form of its own.

Objects spin in mid-air, liquid ink turns to gas, letters raise themselves off a page and float. The images defy all laws of physics, warping reality in totally unexpected ways.

Germain creates the images using a combination of live-action footage and 3D tools. Most of the images are unexplained, but occasionally the designer offers a glimpse at what he was thinking during the creative process. “That awkward moment when a dementor bumps into you,” he clarifies in regards to the image above.