P h o t o M o s a i c s (2025)
Photo Mosaics, my current photography project, uses the strategies of conceptual photography not as an end, but as a means to create an affective atlas of a place and its inhabitants. By organizing the fragmentary into categories and grids, the project transcends the documentary to become an exercise in visual poetry, where the local is universalized through the gaze.
Asphalt series
Approach
"Photo Mosaics" stems from a simple yet profound question: Can systematic organization reveal the hidden narratives within the places we inhabit? Drawing inspiration from the conceptual rigor of Sol LeWitt and the playful ambiguity of Jason Fulford, I employ the grid not as an end in itself, but as a tool to amplify the contradictions and complexities of reality.
Each thematic category, whether it be "Asphalt" or "The sea from the loading dock" becomes a lens through which I examine how light, texture, and human traces define our environment. My intention is to invite the viewer to pause and observe what we often overlook, revealing the beauty and uniqueness concealed within the seemingly mundane.
Theme
My focus lies on those microelements that local residents recognize but rarely stop to contemplate: a bicycle leaning against a crumbling wall, plastic chairs stacked in front of a church, patterns of shadows cast upon cobblestones. These fragments, when isolated and reorganized, form a visual dialect unique to the place, a code that connects the intimate and the universal.
Aesthetics
My grid compositions balance documentary precision with poetic abstraction. By capturing moments freehand, I preserve the rawness and spontaneity of life. Natural light and saturated colors become allies in enhancing the textures and details that define each scene. Cropping is minimal, as meaning emerges from the juxtapositions and relationships established between the images. A rusty chain might be juxtaposed with a child's drawing, inviting the viewer to decipher the connections between the ephemeral and the enduring.
Impact and Significance
"Photo Mosaics" challenges our perception of the "unremarkable." By framing the identity of a province through its most humble and everyday elements, I question what deserves to be preserved in an era of increasing urban homogenization. My work also subverts traditional documentary photography, where context is often singular and specific. Here, context is built cumulatively, from the sum of carefully selected fragments. Viewers become visual archaeologists, reconstructing stories from the fragments I present.
Personal Connection
As a lifelong resident of this province, I approach these themes with a blend of critical distance and affection. This duality is reflected in my working methodology, structured yet open, analytical yet whimsical. "Photo Mosaics" is a tribute to my influences, but above all, it is a personal expression that resonates with the visual dialect of my own community.
