Joshua Hobson
born. 1983, Florida, USA
Currently residing in Seoul. South Korea
“My image making plays many roles in my life, but one of them is organizational. In response to a strange environment, dissecting it one frame at a time is a mechanism for seeking understanding, or at least a kind of symbiosis. This is the primary focus of this series. As an exercise in seeing, photography allows for the compartmentalization of the world. In this way, I can create visual quotations of the world that I encounter daily and the world as I wish it to be.
I am fascinated by the creation of a space shared by such a large number of people. It is done incrementally, consciously and unconsciously. It is done by committee with a clear reasoning, and it is done by individuals driven by solely self-serving ends. People pour their energy and creativity into a place and it becomes a force of its own. It then actively collaborates with residents and visitors alike in its continued growth and evolution. I am interested in how humans deal individually with an environment built by millions. This theme is explored personally as I take part in this unification of individual with environment.
I like cities. However, having grown up in a relatively small town, spending time in a city of millions can be nerve racking at worst and surreal at best. I now find myself in Seoul, a city of over 10 million, with 24 million in the metropolitan area. This work is from an ongoing series documenting my photographic hunting through the streets of this strange and hectic city. In my exploration of Seoul I am drawn to moments of calm, of solitude, of surreal emptiness. Often in a city this large the residents desire for anonymity creates a feeling of loneliness and solitude. I want my imagery to express these feelings.
A relationship is built with my subject through the process of archiving experiences and perceptions. The city presents a “ready-made” of sorts, dependent on recognition and then documentation to be preserved.”
Weekend portfolio selected by Olga Sviblova.
Weekend portfolio selected by Olga Sviblova.
