Meditation of the Urban Landscape
As contemporary society has increasingly transformed our metropolitan urban landscape, I have
been troubled with the lack of escape. With the corporate environment continually taking priority and shaping the landscape in the geography of our lives, it seems that people are progressively turning to their own private spaces for peace of mind. The day-to-day contemporary landscape no longer includes an open field or a dense forest. These places still exist; however, they are seemingly unknown to our contemporary way of life. Public spaces no longer offer the serenity people need to
de-stress.
I have a strong emotional response to this truth. Lonely, lost, anxious, trapped; these are all feelings that are gradually weighing down my thoughts. My reaction to the oppressive corporate landscape is to search for meditation within these hectic places. I want to find the calm and still in spaces that are usually bustling about. Predictably, most of my success has been photographing at night. Spaces devoid of people have offered the most tranquility: an empty garage, a corporate hallway after business hours, the space behind a building. Normally active spaces that calm down after the corporate day ends have become an incredibly meditative experience for me. These are my temporary sanctuaries.
Derek S. Brown