Photography and Text by Jacob Bennett
TRANSIENCE
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This series explores the juxtaposition within the motionless settings that house the infrastructure for the perpetual motion of today’s commuter population.
I have vivid memories growing up of running too and from the London underground so as to minimize my time spent on the platform. The ‘tube’ stations were (and often still are) unsanitary locals of petty crime, homelessness and unidentified smells where one was just as likely to be mugged, as they were to catch their train on time. However, in a strange way, the subways stations of modern cities have become one of the few constants in life, which gives them some sense of familiar comfort, despite the fact that they are so often associated with the underworld of a place, both literally and metaphorically.
Another interesting contrast is created when you consider that subways stations, at the time of their creation, were designed as bastions of modernity, the homes of the then foremost transportation technology of the time – seamless rail travel powered by electricity. Granted, not every station is Grand Central, but I’ve found that most, if not all, have some sort of individual charm.
In this series I have attempted to capture some of the nuances of attractiveness that we can observe in a particular subway station (located at 37th and Spruce streets in Philadelphia) when we slow from the pace of a moving train and take a moment to appreciate our everyday gateways to new places.
Photography and Text by Jacob Bennett, Copyright 2015
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About The Author: Jacob Bennett is an Architecture major and senior at the University of Pennsylvania. Class of 2016.