Photography

#Sacramento

‘Ordinary Sacramento’: A Photo Project Finds Playful, Unexpected Scenarios in the Familiar

March 12, 2021

Grace Ebert

All images © Enoch Ku, shared with permission

Suit-inspired landscaping, overgrown shrubs, and misaligned stripes are just some of the scenes that comprise Enoch Ku’s Ordinary Sacramento, an ongoing project documenting the visual language of the Californian city. Ku is adept at identifying humor and quirkiness among the otherwise mundane urban landscape, framing a street sign or bike rack in a playful manner. Generally taken during a quiet moment, the compositions are evidence of the photographer’s keen sense of awareness and ability to observe what others might not.

Prior to launching Ordinary Sacramento, Ku worked as an actor and wedding photographer, two jobs that required him to rush from one place to the next. The pace of that lifestyle, in addition to the performative nature of the work, sparked his desire to slow down and document the world through a different lens. He explains:

In an Instagram world of stylized photos, highly processed photography, advertisements, and emotional conditioning, I want to convey and elevate the beauty of the ordinary and mundane… Staying silent, going slow, and being present is going against the grain, and I want to encourage people that they can choose that. The world is a beautiful and funny place.

Prints of Ku’s photographs are available on the Ordinary Sacramento site, and keep an eye on his Instagram for his first book, My Neighborhood Rosemont, CA (우리 동네 로즈먼트), a visual love letter that’s slated for release later this year. (via Ignant)

 

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