"The Evasion Studies" from THE SURVIVAL PROJECT by Steven BrahmsWe’ve long been fans of Steven Brahms. He’s been a frequent (and high-ranking) entrant in our Open Calls, has contributed to our magazine, and was most recently the Early Entry winner in our last Open Call.
Now we’re showcasing his work at 3rd Ward and celebrating with a Gallery Opening on Friday, March 18th! Click here for all the event details.
His work creates striking tableaus that evocatively capture the conflicts of modern life as “physical accounts of interior journeys.” But don’t take it from us, read below for a description of his show, in his words.
Over the past year and a half I have been engaged in an investigation of contemporary man's relationship with nature and himself. This multi-part body of work, titled The Survival Project explores and documents an array of experiments, ideas, demonstrations and visions of and about our survival.
We are living in a time of great innovation and technological progress, yet simultaneously there are large gaps in our innate and experiential understanding. We exist in a world where at the click of a button, food is delivered to our doorstep, yet many of us would not last a night in the wild. There is a lack of experience and interaction with the natural world in our contemporary culture. In response, I am compiling a body of work that reminds us of our forgotten knowledge—a survival guide, a mnemonic manual for experience.
Among the works presented in the Survival Project is “The Evasion Studies,” a series resembling film stills from an action sequence, or a news event captured by a journalist. But in this case the narrative is absent, the facts are suspended, what came before and what succeeded remains in question. This is inherent to the medium, as a photograph will always present an in-between moment that is disconnected from the before and after. The moments captured in this sub-series are highlighted stills that serve to enhance the question that so often besets a viewer in front of a photograph: what caused this action, and what will happen from here? Displayed as a single moment suspended from a narrative context, the viewer can experience the images free of predeterminations.
This project began as a way to investigate my curiosity with nature. Living in New York City, one tends to lose a sense of connection with the natural environment. I looked to my 'backyard' and sought the hidden pockets and extremes of my surroundings, all the while uncovering the characters surviving within them. Each image in this guide demonstrates and reveals a skill or technique to be used in survival. The characters are drawn from my perceptions of people on the fringes of society; those who, like myself, are consumed and driven to action by their own curiosities, paranoias, and dreams. These people are both my test subjects and my collaborators.
In making these portraits, still-lifes and found scenes, I soon became aware that the work was much more than the physical objects found within the frame. The work depicts a state of mind, and in turn shows how imagination can be a tool we can use to recapture our forgotten, innate knowledge. The images ultimately become physical accounts of interior journeys, artifacts of time that trigger and transform our collective unconscious.
Now you've read the statement, come see the work! RSVP here >>>
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