‘The Depths’ confronts a pervasive truth of our hyper-connected era: the profound internalisation of experience. While navigating the physically bustling streets of Dublin, I observed a consistent detachment, a populace absorbed by their inner worlds or digital communities, often at the expense of their immediate, tangible surroundings. This project reveals the silent, widening chasm between these states of being.
As a street photographer, my intention is to capture candid moments that embody this contemporary condition. The striking truth I uncovered was my own near-invisibility. Individuals, consumed by thought or screen, rarely registered my camera or my presence. This wasn’t confrontation avoided, but rather an unconscious testament to a collective drifting—a truth about our altered perception of public space and shared reality.
To give form to this invisible severance, I employ motion blur and soft focus. These techniques don’t just dramatise movement; they render the feeling of individuals caught in a constant, unconscious rush, physically present yet mentally elsewhere, their connection to the ‘now’ blurred. The starkness of high-contrast black and white further amplifies this revealed truth, dissecting the scene into its core opposing forces: the vibrant, unseen interiority versus the often-unengaged exterior; the intangible digital echo versus the concrete physicality of the street.
