Under the Sun

The colours of LA in the finder

It is barely possible to grasp the scale and vastness of a city like Los Angeles. Yet there have been many attempts to capture LA photographically. The freeways, the superficial glamor and the dream factory generated iconic images. Exploring this city on foot however, as Freddy Perez did for two years, reveals a very different picture. Under blue skies and blazing sun, this city of dreams and desires turns into an abstract image. Rather than pursuing typologies and specific motives, and without capturing social aspects or spontaneous situations on the streets, LA is presented matter-of-factly and crystal clear in glaring daylight. Sun, shade, light and colors alone determine the composition. Thus, the various elements in the rectangle of the viewfinder – sky, architecture, cars, letterings, plants – interlock to form a two-dimensional image where foreground and background merge in a non-hierarchical way. Freddy Perez moves through the city and, through the viewfinder of his camera, finds pictorial compositions that are captivating in their clarity and abstractness.