Philipp James Hoffmann: DROMOS marks the first solo exhibition in the United States by New York–based artist Philipp James Hoffmann, presented at D. D. D. D. The exhibition centers on the volatile worlds of Motocross and Freestyle Motocross—sports defined by velocity, risk, and spectacle. Rather than documenting these events in a conventional manner, Hoffmann approaches them obliquely, treating competition footage as raw material for a layered and rigorous photographic process.
Working from moving images of MX and FMX competitions, Hoffmann projects selected sequences onto surfaces, isolating fleeting instants from the ongoing rush of action. He then photographs these projections, repeating the cycle of projection and re-photography multiple times. With each iteration, the image drifts further from its origin. Contours dissolve, colors fracture, and the riders’ bodies stretch into luminous apparitions. What began as documentation becomes something far less stable—an arena where time buckles and momentum leaves visible scars.
The resulting works carry the residue of their making. Blurs, ruptures, and chromatic distortions are not mere aesthetic effects but traces of attrition. In this sense, the photographs embody the very conditions of Motocross: abrasion, impact, and exposure to danger. Hoffmann’s images echo the dynamism once championed by early twentieth-century Futurism, yet they avoid simple homage. Instead, they present a contemporary meditation on acceleration—on how technology compresses space and stretches perception to its limits.
Born in 1992 and based in New York City, Hoffmann draws from cultural theory, myth, and art history to inform his practice. His interest in time-space compression and optical instability positions photography as a site of transformation rather than record. In
DROMOS, violence and lyricism intertwine; the grit of the racetrack meets a strange, almost devotional luminosity. The riders remain present, suspended between heroism and erasure, as if emerging from and dissolving back into the very speed that defines them.
Image:
Philipp James Hoffmann | BELLEROPHON, 2026 © Philipp James Hoffmann