Misery Loves Company

For almost exactly one year I had a job that required a long commute by car. June 2025 to July 2026. I’ve never been a car person, preferring to take public transportation. This commute would turn out to be about 60 minutes driving to work then around 75 minutes returning home. By the end of the week the total time sitting in my car would add up to nearly 11 hours. Every week I would reflect on this and get really unhappy.

It was remarkable how quickly road rage started. Even when I feel it coming on, resisting was a challenge. My recourse, I decided, was to take photographs of my own misery. These were initially difficult to make because sitting in the car, in traffic, is not interesting. It’s so ubiquitous across the world as to be beyond banal. And yet, I was tormented for 11 hours every week by it. There wasn’t anything to consider for aesthetics, or framing or visual interest. Completely anonymous. It was photography stripped down to its most elemental use. The subject refused to be “channeled” or “interpreted”. The scenery largely did not change. The point of view of the camera remained fixed. These kinds of restrictions generally make for terrible photographs and I felt that with every frame I shot. Ultimately, I was only looking for one truth; my intense unhappiness sitting there, facing forward, hour after hour. I have no idea if these photographs are any “good”. I do know that when I look at them tension builds up in my shoulders.