“THE ALIENATION OF OPPRESSION” is a 27”x41” digital colour photograph taken in Richmond, British Columbia on January 17, 2019. Specifically, the photograph was taken at the intersection of Gilbert and Lansdowne Roads, where the Richmond Olympic Oval can be seen at the far end of Lansdowne Road. This is an area that has seen a lot of change over the last 10 years. Previously, the area consisted of light industrial and commercial buildings, as well as small chunks of forested areas that lined some of the banks of the Fraser River. Today, the Richmond Curling Centre is all that is left of that former period, and the building it occupies certainly stands out as being a relic in need of restoration. The old curling building is being swallowed up and surrounded by much newer and taller buildings, some completed and some still under construction. Large construction cranes loom in the distance, representative of the ubiquitous change that is occurring at a breakneck speed. A quieter and more rural time replaced by a fast pace concrete jungle.
The photograph was taken at dusk, during the golden hour just after the sun it set. The sky was dark and cloudy, and it began to rain heavily not long after this photograph was taken. The lights of the cars illuminate different things, creating long shadows of some of the people crossing the street. I found it interesting that these people were walking alone, and although they were grouped together, none of them were talking to each other, and none of them seem to know each other. The lights of the oncoming car that was waiting to turn caused the figures in the crosswalk to be silhouetted, further blurring the elements of their individuality. The light of the golden hour also helped to make the artificial streetlights stand out. The green and red traffic lights serve as a reminder of societies control over the movement of individuals; where the individuals are also walking towards the businesses that line the street, exemplified by the TD Canada Trust banking sign to the left. This, combined with a time of day, certainly suggests how humanity is at a turning point in its own heroes journey, as they leave the light of the day for the darkness of the cave they are about to enter.
This photo is also posted on my Flickr account.
