TONY SHUMSKI

REALITY BY PROXY

AUTHENTIC SOCIAL LIFE HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A COMBINATION OF REPRESENTATIONS AND REALITY. THIS IDEA, ALONG WITH THE CURRENT LACK OF DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE REAL WORLD AND SIMULATIONS OF THE REAL WORLD ARE CENTRAL CONCEPTS INFLUENCING MY WORK. TO EXPRESS THIS, I CHOSE TO PHOTOGRAPH A YOUNG MALE FIGURE, STANDING CENTERED IN THE FOREGROUND OF A BARREN CITY SIDEWALK. HIS APATHETIC GAZE LOOKS TOWARD THE FUTURE, ILLUSTRATING A SENSE OF EXISTENTIAL CONFUSION AND INDIFFERENCE TO HIS CURRENT SURROUNDINGS. HIS PLACEMENT WITHIN THE FRAME ALLUDES TO AN INCREASING ISOLATION FROM ONE ANOTHER AND THE WORLD AROUND US. THE LOCATION EXISTS AS A FRAGMENTED SUBSTITUTE FOR THE ORIGINAL, SIMILAR TO THE REPRESENTATION OF REALITY CREATED BY THE SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF OUR CULTURE. AS WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY MEDIATED BY IMAGES, AND JUDGE REALITY MORE AND MORE BASED ON THOSE IMAGES, WE CONTINUE TO DISTANCE OURSELVES FROM NATURAL HUMAN INTERACTION.