The limits of knowledge and perception
#178: This years best, abandoned sites of occult practice and the language of photography.
Firstly thanks to everyone that entered to win the signed print. I have just emailed the winner, so check your inbox / spam!
It was my birthday this week.
This got me thinking about everything that’s happened in the last 12 months.
So, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite moments of the year.
One Night Only
This was a solo exhibition I organised in London last year. It was great to see so many people come down and interact with the work on display. I’m looking forward to doing it again this October!
Spaghetti Western
It’s always difficult to choose, but this might be my favourite artwork I made during this period. It came together exactly as I hoped it would and produced a really graphic image. It also ended up being a popular, albeit controversial piece with everyone that saw it.
Swatch No Rules
My favourite project I worked on over the last year. It was a great experience getting to work with Swatch and have full creative freedom to make this poster for their new line of watches.
Wes Lang’s ‘Black Paintings’
This was the best exhibition I went to see. 96 paintings hung in the space, that the artist created in 1 year around a central narrative and group of characters. These were mostly his favoured skeleton, but also animal-like and otherworldly beings. It was impressive to see such a huge body of work, and how the Lang managed to keep the idea fresh throughout so many different compositions.
Something I’ve been looking into
Joachim Koester is a Danish artist whose practice often explores the intersections of history, myth, and the unseen through photography, film, and installation. His works frequently trace forgotten or marginal narratives, such as abandoned sites of occult practice, colonial expeditions, or the hidden stories behind cultural phenomena. In projects like Morning of the Magicians (2005) and The Hashish Club (2006), Koester reconstructs esoteric journeys and altered states, blending documentary material with suggestion and absence. By engaging with what slips between fact and fiction, his art probes the limits of knowledge and perception, asking how images and narratives shape our understanding of the real.
You should definitely check this out
Explore how anything, from TV sets and storefront mannequins to shadowy self-portraits and cherry blossoms, can become the foundation of a compelling photo project through the lens of legendary street photographer Lee Friedlander. In this video, Developing Tank dives deep into Friedlander’s vast and eclectic body of work to understand how his approach turned the mundane into meaningful, and how his witty, observational style continues to shape the language of photography.
Cheers,
Joe
A selection of prints, T-shirts and other works are available here.