Ryan Rogers is a photographer and director born and raised in Hawai`i and now based in New York and London. His utopic visual style blends together comedy and surrealism to create an imaginative, campy tone throughout his work. His whimsical aesthetic allows viewers to escape reality by showcasing leisure and recreation to a high degree of absurdity. His conceptual portraiture is highly manicured and represents an imagined ideal world. This world looks synthetic, but its overt tactile artificiality is a reminder that fakeness can often feel real.
“Utopias” is a series of photographs that showcases a world that exists between the natural and surreal. A world where the trees don’t die because they’re plastic, and the couches are covered in fresh lemons. Within this state of aesthetic relaxation, I wonder if happiness can be found in a place where pleasure is an everlasting constant rather than a luxury. Is this what a perfect world looks like?
