Thursday Salute to Originals: Going Nowhere

Jump head first into a pothole. Now, take a selfie.

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New York photographer Ben Zank captures bizarre moments of restriction, with subjects physically jammed into their environment or vice versa.

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Each image displays a male subject wandering through various landscapes — on a city street, somewhere in a desert, or even deep in a forest. The subject has a tenancy to get stuck, though, falling face first into potholes and sand dunes or even getting wedged between large stacks of cardboard boxes.

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Each scene has a comical theme, while illustrating strong emotions of confusion and restriction in the midst of simple scenery. The clothes, locations and even posture of the subjects alone are uninteresting, but the bizarre interaction of man with environment makes each photograph unusual and interesting.

This Thursday, we are saluting Ben Zank and his surreal scenes of people getting very stuck. Each photograph is fun, interesting and seems to tell a relatable story in an attention-grabbing way.

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As Zank kicks up his creative schedule this summer in leading up to a solo show in Shanghai, you can view more upcoming scenes on the photographer’s Instagram.

Sources: Ben Zank, This is Colossal