George Byrne Captures The Surface Of LA

In his series ‘New Order’, Byrne explores the urban space of Los Angeles as attentive images of refined compositional elements. The photographer captures the city with a flatness reminiscent of the cut-out work of Matisse: this draws out the presence of “While the images remain portraits of the city, they also become more abstract”shadows, road markings and trees in the image, granted the same structural importance as the architectural elements within the frame. Byrne presents a view of LA that focuses acutely on colour, texture and surface qualities. In regards to this conceptual development in his documentation of the urban environment, the photographer explains, “It allowed me to look at and combine elements in a more expressive way. While the images remain portraits of the city, they also become more abstract in their intention – based on a true story but open to interpretation.”