Poser 4: Grand Central Station is the fourth installment of Ho Tam’s photobook series, Poser, in which he takes portraits of people in public spaces, repeatedly, with one shot on a film camera. In this edition, all of the photographs are taken in Grand Central Station in New York City of people wearing blue shirts. The repetition of place and outfit as a premise for a photo series results in a fascinating conglomeration of people, expressions, and identities which are diverse yet contain an aesthetic thread. An infamous place of rush hour chaos, the photos act as a brief moment of pause amongst a sea of people rushing around them. Yet the flash of the camera, acts as a spotlight, so each individual portrait feels considered and significant. The photographs, taken in 2002, vehemently oppose a post 9/11 state by openly approaching strangers to be photographed.
Ho Tam is an artist from Hong Kong, educated in Toronto. He works across a wide range of mediums, including writings, photography, and film, in which he explores identity, politics, and public space. He is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program and holds an MFA from Bard College. Ho Tam is also the founder of Hotam, an independent publisher based in Toronto.
