Jerry Hsu: How About Never brings together photographs made in Los Angeles from 2011 onward. The book presents the city as an active presence rather than a neutral backdrop. Hsu’s images record contradictions that define everyday life in the area, placing signs of hope next to evidence of neglect and injury. The sequence moves between quiet moments and scenes of damage, creating an atmosphere that feels both familiar and unsettled.
The photographs include disfigured fences, discarded toilets, blood-stained mattresses, and crashed cars. One image shows a bank building on fire, its flames captured at night. These subjects are not arranged as a catalogue of urban decay but as part of a larger visual rhythm. Spontaneous compositions appear alongside more deliberate frames, and the work treats accidents and debris as material for observation rather than as sensational content.
Portraits form another strand of the project. Hsu photographs people in streets, alleys, and informal spaces, often in conditions of disrepair. The images seek a degree of intimacy without resolving the tension between the individual and the surrounding environment. Faces and bodies are shown in relation to damaged structures and abandoned objects, suggesting that personal experience and urban conditions are difficult to separate.
The title How About Never reflects the ambiguous tone of the work. The book does not propose a single narrative about Los Angeles but instead assembles disparate elements into a coherent sequence. Destruction appears as a recurring theme, yet it is not presented only as an end point. Hsu’s photographs suggest that breakdown and renewal occur together, and that change often emerges from sites of damage. The volume offers a sustained look at one city while addressing broader questions about how people live within unstable environments.
Jerry Hsu: How About Never
Category: Photographer Monographs & Art Books
Author: Jerry Hsu
Publisher: MACK
Publication Date:
September 2026
Print Length: 176 pages
Language: English
Price: paid
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