Photographic groupings (stories/gestures):
Oakland, CA
Seoul, S. Korea
#morningcommute / #walkinghome / #urbanlandscape
I have always been drawn to the beautiful idiosyncrasies of the landscape/cityscape—to those visible or discreet active moments that are in sync or at odds with each another. To those moments that tell a story.
When I moved to the Bay Area several years ago, I started taking pictures with my smartphone as I walked through the streets of Oakland. Over the years, this process has become a way to connect to the architecture of a place and to its people: to understand the texture and cultural dimensions of a place/space; and to ground myself and engage with a new environment. These images are source material (or ‘completed’ images) and inspiration for other creative projects in the studio and in public spaces, which is exciting for me (shoes, drawings, music, etc.). By engaging in active observation, we can find ways to connect to nature and the built environment while also sharing and understanding the subtle nuances in our cultural traditions and beliefs (whether our own or of others). These pictures (below), which are posted (almost) daily on social media, I consider to be drawings or acts of drawing. Together, they create a map of overlapping paths that shift and sway, where moments of color, line, form, words, smells, and emotions give way to urban narratives (real or imagined). Anyway...some thoughts to share. To see more images, click on the social media icons to the left. Or click to see my feed on Instagram @giselanycoak.
