Joseph Wu Hyperfocused

PHOTO: Hyperfocus by Bryce Evans

A nice article involving Joseph Wu:

A Vancouver photographer’s image of origami artist Joseph Wu will be Canada’s entry at a social issues photography festival in Italy in November.

Bryce Evans‘ photo is called Hyperfocus. It shows Wu folding a yellow piece of paper while seated in a corner. He looks like he’s surrounded by so many pieces of origami that he doesn’t have any room left to move. He’s literally cornered himself.

Evans’ image is an intimate portrait of Wu.

Wu is an origami artist who has spoken out about his diagnosis as an adult living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – ADHD – and depression.

Evans knew about Wu and wanted to work with him. Evans wanted to make a photograph of Wu that explored how his skill at origami related to his mental health.

Wu told him that his ADHD allowed him to become hyperfocussed on origami. Evans wanted to portray the positive side of Wu’s mental illness.

“I had the picture in my head of all the bright colors and different shapes and intricacy of it,” Evans said.
“As I heard his story, I began to construct a story. It was a matter of talking with him, giving him my ideas and hearing what the thought about it. We collaborated to create the final product.”
Evans could also relate to what Wu suffers from. When he’s working on his photography, he can focus his attention so acutely he shuts out everything else.

“I wanted to make the viewer think he was working on it and cornered himself and didn’t realize it,” Evans said.

Read the rest.