What Strange phenomena we find in a great city, all we need to do is stroll about with our eyes open.
Life swarms with innocent monsters.
– Charles Beaudelaire
These are the haunting renditions of the cities that sketch-artist Zachary Johnson walked during his travels around the globe. Anybody who lives in a big city knows the duality presented by a crowded metropolis. The constant cacophony of movement and noise leaves one feeling, more perhaps than anything else, alone.
During his time in cities like New York, Chicago, Belgrade, Pittsburgh, and many more, Zachary Johnson was able to perfectly gauge the obscure removal he felt from the bustling atmosphere of each place, allowing these feelings to drip from his mind in pen and ink; transforming the animated monstrosity of the urban jungles into gloomy, yet telling, sketches. What one sees in these pictures are towers skyscrapers and small street-kiosks standing side-by-side. The empty streets, normally swelling with people, have been abandoned, leaving the concrete and brickwork seemingly redundant. One can’t help but ask ‘where has everybody gone?’
These are Lonely Cities.
Text: Osin Fogarty-Graveson
