Manhattan Project

"The pleasure and insight here is that it refocuses our attention and makes the world we move through larger and more complicated, more detailed, and full of identity, which is a joy." — Hyperallergic Manhattan Project is a collection of photographs that capture the evolving landscape of Manhattan s West Side over the past decade. Exploiting the revelatory power of photography, these images explore a city’s architectural transformation. While Jan Staller s earlier work focused on industrial decay, these new photographs explore the rise of high-rise construction. By isolating and zooming in on building materials, Staller elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary. The resulting images, reminiscent of drawings or abstract paintings, reveal the hidden beauty and formal qualities of these often-overlooked elements. This project reimagines the city not as a monolithic entity, but as a composition of intricate details. It celebrates the interplay of light, form and texture, inviting viewers to rethink the familiar and discover the artistic potential of the urban environment. Text in English and French.