In such an image saturated society it’s easy to assume knowledge of something or somewhere without personally experiencing it, especially well-documented cities such as New York. Ian Scott Newcomb’s series of photographs titled 'NYTV' read almost like a collection of images taken by a tourist searching out well-known landmarks on holiday. Based on his own encounter when arriving in The Big Apple when he sensed the feeling of being on the set of a movie, the series explores the authenticity of the recorded image and how film and television can have a dual and often contradictory effect; on one hand being informative and acting as a window into the real world, and on the other romanticizing, creating an artificial view.
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By emerging himself in his environment and re-photographing recognisable imagery associated with the city, Newcomb seeks to question that what he is experiencing actually exists. Being surrounded by a sea of yellow taxis, high-rise office blocks, subway trains and other commonly-seen icons, it’s easy to feel like you’re in some sort of fictional world because everything is associated with films or television programs you’ve seen before, everything seems so familiar.
The layering process involved in making these works mirrors this ‘de ja vue’ experience. Newcomb displays each photograph he has taken onto the same television screen and then re-photographs it to make the final piece, which he prints himself by hand. The result is a series of works that look like snapshots from television coverage of the city of New York, but are in fact a mixture of fictional and factual images; TV cops, newscasters and advertising blend with taxis and tower blocks, making it almost impossible to see what is real and what is fictional.
an Scott Newcomb has worked as a freelance photographer for a number of years and has completed commissions for lifestyle magazines such as Jockey Slut and The Face as well as album covers and promotional material for a number of artists, and projects for independent record labels. After spending three years living in Tokyo, Newcomb now lives and works in London.