Peter Funch’s series of New York street photos are more than just stylistically appealing; his composite photos dissect how humans relate to each other beyond sharing a similar geography.
For 15 days spread across three years, Danish photographer Peter Funch stood on various Manhattan street corners and snapped photos. Around 250,000 altogether. This wasn’t target practice; Funch was compiling shots for his Babel Tales series, a collection of composite photos created by blending single shots into one large piece.
He snapped photos of various passersby at the exact same spots so he could Photoshop the results into single images. For example, several photos of people walking dogs are crafted into a composite images showing those dog-walkers all in one photo, as if they were traveling on the street at the same time.
In an interview with DigitalJournal.com from his New York home, Funch, 35, said he didn’t move a subject from any spot. He likens the Babel Tales to an art form closer to film than photography. “It’s like a photo shot over a long period time, like a short film,” he says from his New York home.
This project will eventually become the basis for a full-length book containing 40 images, Funch says. Narrative text will accompany each photo, discussing the urban life of New York City.
In fact, Funch’s photos are very much his interpretation of how New Yorkers relate to each other beyond living in the same area code. “I wanted to create a project that focused on how we see each other apart from race or age or anything else.”
Funch gets playful in some pics, such as the one displaying a bride in the middle of the photo, with men holding flowers around her. “That’s truly one of those New York moments,” he says.
Working on Babel Tales encouraged Funch to be creative and subjective, a practice he finds refreshing after years of photojournalism. “I’m not interested in being objective and not manipulating photos,” he notes. “I like playing with tools and playing with minds.”
His work usually showcases his most recent obsession. “I’m fascinated with our behaviour in public spaces. It’s almost poetic.”
Funch’s next exhibition is in Amsterdam starting June 5. More info can be found at dreamamsterdam.nl
Below are some more photos from Funch’s Babel Tales.
