Back again after a short break to regain my thoughts and recover from a string of thirty plus degree days with high humidity.

A lot has been written about the effects of architecture and space on the psyche, which would be interesting for me to explore and read about in a thorough way, so I can explore my own experience in relation to others, in a more informed way.

I think it’s safe to assume, for the time being at least, that most people would agree that a grey, four walled, concrete space, lit with florescent lights, where there are no windows, is no natural flow of fresh air, with air that reeks of air-borne solvents and has a bare concrete floor…would not be a pleasant space to occupy, for five minutes, let alone forty hours a week.

However it is the reality that the modern factory worker must face up to and endure.

What kind of influence would this environment have on a person? When coupled with mindless repetition…

Speaking from my own experience: it is best described as a kind of numbing. It becomes painful to think. The combination of boredom and frustration leads one into a kind of madness that shields from a painful reality.

Because the reality repeats and repeats, and seems inescapable; escape itself becomes an overpowering urge. Escape into things that do not require thought, that do not challenge, that facilitate a pleasant state of numbness.

Am I being too radical? Perhaps, but I’m sure you’re nodding your head if you’ve known this reality first hand; if you haven’t, maybe you should give it a try. It would jolt anyone out of any illusions of freedom they might be led to believe in.

More on this later. For now, I’m updating my photoblog a bit more these days. I’ve been looking back at images from Korea. Finding some nice surprises.