On Groundless Fears
by Justin Aungst
portfolio winners call 'Urbanautica Institute Awards 2023', 2023
Category: Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts
I often have dreams in which I’m chased or followed. Sometimes there is an urgent, life-threatening pace where I’m running from a pursuer. Often, it’s slower and less immediate, and in some cases, I don’t turn around to see if someone is behind me. The feeling of being followed is enough to keep me moving.
On Groundless Fears focuses on subconscious anxieties where the root causes are not readily apparent to us. Untethered from reality, these fears seep into the mundane. The setting of an American suburb is meant to be familiar and unsuspecting. However, an eerie silence permeates throughout the photographs with shadows concealing, fences obstructing, and houses hiding. The images are influenced by my time growing up in suburbia but are not meant to accurately portray the look of these neighborhoods. Instead, they hint at a psychological landscape where the environment creates a disconnected atmosphere of uneasiness and isolation.
also from Urbanautica Institute Awards 2023