Luke Ryan
The two projects I have chosen relate to the role of the surveillance state, and to consumerism. These are subjects that are an inescapable constant in contemporary life. My current influences are Andres Serrano, Andres Kertesz and Andrew Hammerand; all who have inspired my recent work. Aside from photography, I find inspiration from films.
Scenes From Safety
Shot on my laptop using screenshots from webcams, these images show different cities in Europe and America. The series depicts the isolation and solitude that has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world. After I started this project I discovered similar projects by Marcus DeSieno and Andrew Hammerand, whose work also portrays eerie and ominous environments. With the onset of pandemic, surveillance appears to be so much more prevalent. My current job is working in security, where I have become hyperaware of invasive technology. My workstation is surrounded by CCTV cameras that are constantly watching everything. When the pandemic is over, I fear this increased surveillance will become the norm.
Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce
This series of images shows baked beans in the shape of the cans from which they came. My aim was to strip back the materialist and consumerist nature of each branded can. Isolated on a plain white backdrop, the focus is kept on the beans and the shape they hold. When starting this project, I wanted to show how the contents of branded cans looked awful compared to how beautiful the labels are. Developing this idea, I removed the labels to give more focus to the contents within. The idea for this work came to me from looking at typographical images such as Taryn Simon’s work on families. I also thought of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soupcans and the way the presentation of those images as bigger than life is almost in reverence to branding. I thought about how I could put a twist on how brands are represented.