JILLIS IN NEW YORK
"An award-winning black and white dance photograph capturing a moment of pure human triumph against the gritty backdrop of New York City's traffic."
The Narrative
This work serves as a visceral manifesto on the resilience of human expression within the "concrete jungle." New York City is often defined by its hardness, an unrelenting flow of noise, steel, and anonymity. In Jillis in New York, this urban chaos is not merely documented; it is defied. The image captures a moment of pure, triumphant liberation that pierces through the city’s static architecture. The profound impact on the viewer stems from the friction between the raw, heavy reality of the street and the weightless elegance of the dancer. It is an invitation to reclaim one's movement and freedom, even when the environment seeks to frame and confine us.
Visual Analysis
A high-contrast black and white street photograph taken in Manhattan. The central figure, dancer Jillis Roshanali, is frozen mid-air in a powerful grand jeté. His body forms a sharp, energetic diagonal that slices through the horizontal lines of a black Chevrolet Suburban and a city bus. The lighting emphasizes the gritty texture of his denim outfit and the physical tension in his muscles, making him appear to almost vibrate against the static urban backdrop. The lack of color strips away the city's distractions, focusing the viewer entirely on the interplay of form, light, and the dramatic contrast between the industrial machine and the flexible human body.
Configure Your Edition
More by Arjan Spannenburg
View all works by this artist →
Year
2016
Categories
Genres