“Crash Landed” is a series of 10 photographs imagining an astronaut who suddenly returns to Earth and finds himself needing to readjust.
The project is shoot in collaboration the British Art Director Gemma Fletcher.They show a man in a spacesuit, opaque reflective helmet obscuring any facial expressions, in a variety of settings devoid of other human life or action.
“The idea was to show him in different environments trying to adapt to everyday life again,” Says Hermann
The resulting series is stark, if a little unsettling. Hermann chose locations generally bustling with activity — a library, a city sidewalk — but shot them empty, without people or cars, giving the sense that they’d been abandoned in the time since the space traveler left Earth.
“Ken Hermann’s images are pathways, connecting us to micro worlds and challenging us to rethink ideas of photographic representation. Ken doesn’t worry about trends, staying true to his point of view as an image-maker. It’s exciting to see a young photographer with such a strong singular vision and approach.
Passionate about individuals and their unique histories, he explores the fragile balance between people and their environment, between tradition and modernity. Ken’s photography seamlessly weaves cultural and political content, blending documentary and cinematic portraiture. His application of lighting, combining artificial with natural, takes the images into a surreal space, creating dreamlike visions of everyday people.”
[Ken Hermann] [Gemma Fletcher]
