Out of Place
Bas Losekoot

In 2011, I started a photographic project based on the rise of the Urban Millennium. My aim was to capture the consequences of population density on the behaviour of city dwellers. It was in the streets of downtown Manhattan where I created a methodology for use in other cities. By the end of 2018, I had photographed in New York, São Paulo, Seoul, Mumbai, Hong Kong, London, Lagos, Istanbul and Mexico City. In each of those cities I worked for at least one month – walking the streets every day from sunrise till sunset.

Out of Place is a photographic essay that provides insight in the psychological journey of street life in modern megacities. At the rise of the “Urban Millennium” Bas Losekoot embarked on a visual exploration, considering how population density affects human behaviour. While placing his camera in the liminal spaces of the city, he addresses the state of in-between-ness of the modern urban experience. With an intuitive eye, he observes the “presentation of self” and “micro-second meetings” of everyday urban encounters. By adding drama to the trivial, Losekoot is painting the theatre of the real life, where small gestures become dramatic events.

Renowned photobook designer Teun van der Heijden translated the project into an extraordinary book. The design emphasises the cinematic quality of the photographic series. It is structured with different page formats and positions, that mimics the stratification of life in modern megacities. The book is published by Kehrer Verlag.

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