The Watching Humans Watching series, by Swedish photographers Inka and Niclas, is very much indebted to Martin Parr’s famous photos of people taking photos. But while Parr’s flash-lit images match perfectly their content – scenes of hyper-mediated contemporary tourism – Inka and Niclas’s cool, deadpan images startle with their melancholy, compassion, and humanity.
The contemporary style they seem to be working in too often creates emotionless, sterile images, disconnected from any real human experience, but not here. Whether in groups or alone, the people on view seem lost in a very familiar kind of contemplation of nature. We all have felt that flash of loneliness and insignificance and wonderment, looking out at the majestic, slightly surreal vistas that only nature can present us with. It’s nice to know that contemporary photography can still document those feelings.
Photography by Inka and Niclas
