Urbanautica

ANDREW WAITS. APORIA

by Steve Bisson

«a photographic response to an urban environment dominated by construction and destruction. It’s a narrative born from curiosity, disorientation, and a desire to explore the psychological effects of a rapidly changing urban landscape.»

Tell us about where you grow up. What kind of place it was? And then photography. How it all started?

Andrew Waits (AW): I grew up in a suburb north of Seattle, Washington. By all accounts, it was a typical American suburb as they existed in the 80’s and 90’s; a homogenous, sleepy, sprawling landscape of strip malls and supermarkets. The perfect word to describe it would be, mediocre. I moved to Seattle proper in the wake of the Dotcom Bubble and 9/11, two events that foreshadowed and fundamentally shaped the political, financial, and social climate of the coming decades.

I didn’t grow up with a relative or friend that piqued my interest in photography. While I always loved looking at old photographs and family albums, cameras and photography were not present during my adolescence in any significant way. I think the first camera I received, and really used, was from a former girlfriend during my senior year of college. So 21, or 22 years old.

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

What about your educational background?

AW: I completed my undergraduate degree in political science and political communications at the University of Washington in Seattle. Much of the research I was doing at the time revolved around the political discussion. At the time, I was very interested in the potential ways online spaces could be designed to create an ideal place for political deliberation. It’s interesting to look back on this work now from the perspective of today and see how much has gone wrong with regard to productive political debate online.

As I moved away from academia and began to pursue photography, what carried over initially was my interest in the communication of ideas and individual stories. Much of my early work was journalistic and involved a great deal of audio interviews. While I’m proud of this early work, I recognize now that the photographs themselves were in a way taking a back seat to the journalistic aspect.

This changed significantly during the course of studying for my MFA at the University of Hartford. The focus on the photographs themselves became of greater importance to me as a vehicle for emotional transference. I definitely give a great deal of credit to the faculty and my advisors. For me, the experience of the critique was the most mind expanding. To be able to watch the dynamic and method of the faculty as they absorbed and interpreted work was the greatest and most intellectually electrifying experience during this time.

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

What do you think about photography in the era of digital and social networking? How is the language evolving and impacting on people and communities?

AW: The pace at which we consume photographs has certainly increased with the proliferation of social media and the invention of the endless scroll. Whether or not visual literacy has increased in the process, I’m not convinced. I think most people will now readily admit that a photograph does not equal fact. However, I’m not sure this knowledge has yet led to wisdom.

The power of photographs to create a perception of reality is very powerful. Intellectually we understand that someone’s Instagram or Facebook feed is a construct of life, not a true reflection of it. However, when we spend hours a day consuming and interacting with people and the world in this highly constructed context, it becomes the only reality we know. And as we’ve seen in our current political climate, a grandiose lie is sometimes more damaging to reality than one that is meager, although both are insidious.

When thinking and talking about photography, context is everything to me. Photographs take on different roles and are imbued with different properties depending on the form of delivery.

As a photographer, I’m primarily interested in the photobook. It’s a way for me to separate what I do from the ocean of images and create a physical context for my work. I don’t believe that simply putting photographs into the context of a book gives them an inherent power. There are plenty of photobooks out there that don’t really do anything, other than take this first step. I’m interested in how the photographs and the form of the photobook work together in service of each other. This is how I have to work to preserve my own sanity. And yes, many of these photographs exist in the digital space where people can view them out of their proper context.

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

How would you introduce yourself as an author or described your personal methodology, your visual exploration?

AW: I would like to think my personal methodology is continually growing and being refined. One constant is my penchant for research. The process of reading and exploring a topic stimulates the photographic potential and shape of the work. As has been the case in the most recent two bodies of work, the photographs and concept develop in tandem, both informing and directing each other along the way.

Can you introduce the work 'Aporia' that was selected for Urbanautica Institute Awards. What are the basic motivations and assumptions of this project? How you developed your fictional narrative?

AW: At its base, Aporia is a photographic response to an urban environment dominated by construction and destruction. It’s a narrative born from curiosity, disorientation, and a desire to explore the psychological effects of a rapidly changing urban landscape.

Prior to Aporia, I was consumed by a project inspired by a particular historic figure and locations of significant importance to his life and work. Aporia was motivated by the desire to make something closer both emotionally and geographically to myself. I had always strongly identified with Seattle’s landscape and temperament and felt a sort of kinship with it. However, the past several years the city has been experiencing an influx of capital and industry. The result has been an urban environment torn apart and dismantled both physically and culturally. What struck me the most was the pace of the change and the constant churn of it.

I had no interest in creating a straightforward document of what was happening, nor did I think it was possible to explain or rationalize it through photographs alone. The forces causing the change are complex and largely unseen. There is no one thing you can point your finger to as the cause because it’s endemic to a larger economic system. While photographs are inherently descriptive they also have emotive potential and an ability to tap into something deeper. Feeling unable to adequately explain the landscape, I became concerned with charting what the French artist and philosopher, Guy Debord, would describe as the psychological landscape of space.

The series 'Aporia' featured on the catalog of Urbanautica Institute Awards 2019

The series 'Aporia' featured on the catalog of Urbanautica Institute Awards 2019

In your statement, you mention that 'Aporia' was created in a specific city, yet speaks to the phenomenon of rapid growth being experienced in many urban locations around the world. You describe this human condition as a sort of confusing state. As if there were no references. The French anthropologist Marc Augé has defined the concept of "non-place". Tell us more…

AW: The destruction of visual reference can certainly lead to a state of spatial confusion or emotional alienation from a place. But the confusion is not just spatial. It also arises from the feeling that change is happening outside of oneself. That the environment is being altered by some invisible force that you can’t simply point a finger at.

The idea of the non-place is, of course, entirely subjective. For example, while Aporia may depict a non-place, it is entirely my own projection, not documentation. The photographs in Aporia are a distillation of a psychological state. Some may draw parallels to their own experiences while others may regard the changes happening to their city with positive regard.

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

This "struggle for connection" as you wrote can "provide a brief glimpse into what lies underneath the system where the collective psyche of a population finds its covert habitation". What do you mean by the collective psyche?

AW: Carl Jung first suggested the idea of a collective psyche or collective unconscious that is common to mankind as a whole. It represents “the soul” of humanity at large. While my use of the term is not entirely academic, I do believe there is a common collective desire for purpose or meaning. Currently, I sense an unspoken feeling that something is amiss. There’s a particular brand of unhappiness and anxiety that seems to have intensified in past decades, especially in the United States despite the hyper “connection” of social media. I believe it’s a side effect of the late-stage capitalism that permeates all aspects of our life.

There are hints at a desire for connection and release peppered throughout the work where gestures and emotions are on full display. These, however, happen removed from the urban environment and the system that drives it.

© Andrew Waits from the series 'Aporia'

'Aporia' is also a book. How did you develop this idea? How the project reacts in this physical support? What do you think of photo-books in general?

AW: I would say that Aporia is primarily a book. Its structure, sequencing and narrative all developed with that form in mind as the final output. Every detail, from the font used to the chapter structure and everything in between, was designed to communicate my vision of the work. That’s not to say it has to be read one way. I wanted to create something that had an intended purpose, but at the same time was not restricted to a singular interpretation.

The book 'Aporia' by Andrew Waits. Dalpine / Fiebre Photobook, 2018

The book 'Aporia' by Andrew Waits. Dalpine / Fiebre Photobook, 2018

Three books that you recommend in relation to the project 'Aporia' or your photography or your interest in general.

AW: Three books I would recommend in relation to Aporia: Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs and The Castle by Federico Clavarino.

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LINKS
Andrew Waits
Book 'Aporia' Dalpine / Fiebre Photobook, 2018
Urbanautica United States

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