City Life

Foam Magazine, City Life

The latest edition of Foam Magazine is about the City Life and its contemporary value. Question as how life in the city is characterized; how people spend their time; what is their relation to the environment; what relationships are developed between them. The editors don’t pretend to answer these questions judging cultures or ethnic groups, but yet portrait them with eight relevant portfolios. Mohamed Bourouissa, Takashi Homma, Nontsikelelo Veleko, JH Engström, Otto Snoek, Bertrand Fleuret, Reinier Gerritsen and Joel Sternfeld were chosen to show their work and how the city life inspires them.

Mohamed Bourisa has a cinematic style and was quickly recognized for it. The questions that rose from his work are related to stereotypes and the life in the suburbs of Paris. How power and relationships are affected by the economical disparity? These were the circumstances where Mohamed grew up and he now tries to explore with his ‘filmic photographs’.

Nontsikelelo chooses to approach the street style of the South African population. He tries to break with the clichés of how fashion can be in South Africa and shows young people’s distinctive outfits, usually created with handmade rudiments.

After an intensive study, Otto Snoek produced two monographs: Rotterdam and Why Not. Born and raised in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, lately have been focused in the identity of European Citizens. For that, Otto has been is different millionaire fairs around this continent, taking photographs of the ambiance of these parties.

What I found particularly interested in this edition of Foam Magazine is the way different professionals see the Life in the City and the different aspects they approach.