Chicago-based artist Clarissa Bonet explores the psychological context of urban space in her photographs. Her series City Space, which we learned about on Booooooom, portrays the imposing physicality of architecture in a dense metropolis. The figures featured in her images are often performing mundane tasks, surrounded by a vast network of buildings that sometimes appear ominous. The composition of the buildings create alternately claustrophobic and open spaces that form silent relationships with residents, inviting an intuitive response from passersby. From the artist’s statement:
The urban space is striking – its tall and mysterious buildings, crowds of anonymous people, the endless sea of concrete. City Space is an ongoing photographic exploration of the urban environment and my perception of it. I am interested in the physical space of the city and its emotional and psychological impact on the body. These photographs reconstruct mundane events in the city that I have personally experienced or witnessed in public. Stark light, deep shadow and muted color are visual strategies I explore to describe the city. I use the city as a stage and transform the physical space into a psychological one. The images I create do not represent a commonality of experience but instead provide a personal interpretation of the urban landscape.
See more of Bonet’s striking work, click here.