I came across this shot today by
Ruben Brulat and was reminded of how isolating and cold the city can be. To some extent it reminds me of the painting
Night Hawks by Edward Hopper which depicts a lonely and cool urban setting. We construct these enormous concrete jungles, transportation networks and communication devices in the hope to make life more efficient, more safe and to bring each other closer, but are we actually pulling ourselves away from humanity, from our own humanity? At some point in the future will it be considered uncommon for people to have face-to-face contact with each other out of the home? Will we be more reliant on digitally based relationships than actual ones?
The depiction of the city here while being cold and lonely is also somewhat beautiful. Ruben has captured the unique lighting, geometric shapes and textures of the urban world, with only a few subtle hints of human existence – with the exception of the city forms themselves. When looking at this image my eye initially wonders down the dark road towards the light, before moving up to the buildings to search for signs of life in the windows then eventually down underneath the bridge into the shadows. The image is incredibly still, which I think contributes to the isolation and lifelessness. I feel inspired to take my camera out for a night walk.
