Rallies can be overwhelming for first-time voters. Bouts of cheers and jeers ring out as speakers rile up the crowd. Rally-goers carry elaborately designed boards, props and flags as they steal the limelight from the candidates. Amid a nauseating visual experience, a cacophony of whistles, airhorns and clappers adds to the unbearable concoction.
As a photographer, this felt like a trial by fire – a sort of hell forged from the powers of Zeus’ lightning, Thor’s hammer and more. Escape felt like a sensible decision. Yet, with each step taken further away from the messy mass of motion and matter, I find a semblance of a refuge. While every rally differed from the next, patterns and contrasts invoke a sense of visual coherence. I just had to breathe, observe and think, at my own pace.
In chaos, there can still be order.
