Jerry Hsu: “Dystopia Is More Present Than Ever”
Photographer and skateboarder Jerry Hsu discusses his forthcoming monograph How About Never, a collection of images documenting Los Angeles street life since 2011. The book assembles fragmented urban scenes that capture moments of beauty, tragedy, and uncanny coincidence across the city’s landscape. While the interviewer perceives dystopian undertones in the work—abandoned objects, environmental decay, burnt vehicles—Hsu frames the project as romantic and compassionate, exploring his inner world through environmental observation rather than making explicit political statements. He acknowledges an underlying sense of apocalyptic anxiety pervading contemporary life, though notes this reflects his personal aesthetic attraction rather than intentional commentary. Hsu’s perspective as a skateboarder shapes his intimate engagement with urban surfaces and materiality, allowing ground-level exploration that differs from car-mediated city navigation. The work deliberately avoids LA’s glamorous cultural clichés, omitting palm trees and iconic landmarks to resist caricature.
Original article published on AnOther — AI-generated summary. Visit the website to read the full article at the source. Image via AnOther.
