In this ongoing project, I am interested in the relationship between autonomy and the uncontrollable conditions of America’s current political and social landscape. From forest defenders in Atlanta to the militarized conditions of the Texas - Mexico border, the various stories and subjects I have photographed are in dialogue with one another, speaking to an existential pressure increasingly felt and visibly seen in the US. Informing the way I have been approaching this subject matter has been Leonard Cohen’s 1967 song The Store Room. In the opening lines, he sings;
“It’s not the wind that keeps you up, it’s not the snow
It’s not the moon coming like a headlight through your window
It’s not the thumbnail of a screen that scrapes away your dream
It’s just this man taking what he needs from the store room”
The song speaks to a discontentment and numbness to the world’s conditions, and an obsession with the abstract thoughts of a person taking and doing what they wish by unconventional means. As America’s political landscape and societal harmony collapses, the message of this song becomes increasingly familiar.
— Jordan Conway, a winner of the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2024. Discover all 25 emerging talents here!
