Beyond recording the narratives of social life, culture, and shared experiences in public spaces, the act of creating tension or intrigue at the very first glance, both from the photographer’s perspective and that of the viewer, is a defining feature of street photography. The questions that emerge within the image seem to spread across its entire surface, their answer not found within the picture itself but circulating in the viewer’s own thoughts. This aspect gives street photography its enduring charm and sustained popularity.

Works that tone down the sense of thrill, turning instead toward conceptual approaches, often in the form of photo series rather than collections of an artist’s “personal best” images, are often overlooked. This is because the strong visual identity of street photography as a genre has been deeply ingrained, and its popularity, shaped by a kind of collective consensus, implicitly defines its boundaries. Anything that deviates from this norm tends to be seen as marginal street photography, or even dismissed as not being street photography at all.

One work I recall from a street photography competition in 2013, the same year I received an honorable mention, was by Paul YEUNG Tak-ming, an independent photographer, educator, and curator. His work, which won second prize, stood apart from the other entries that year, including my own, which leaned toward the popular, humorous, and visually striking style of new street photography (for example, the IN-PUBLIC style).

Yeung’s series depicted people engaged in peculiar beauty enhancement rituals, using unusual devices applied to various parts of their bodies. The images focused on isolated body fragments and resembled the work of Martin Parr in some ways. Yeung did not capture life on the street or in public spaces in the conventional sense; instead, he brought attention to marginalized or overlooked subjects, things ignored even by street photographers themselves. To reveal the unseen, to reframe the disregarded—perhaps that is the very essence of street photography, isn’t it?

Jeff Mermelstein’s project #nyc, which documents mobile phone screens displaying snippets of provocative private conversations, is another example of this marginal street photography. Likewise, Masato Seto’s Silent Mode – The Dream of Girls (shown at Kathmandu Photo Gallery in 2009), consisting of portraits on the subway, may seem simple at first glance. Yet the serene, detached expressions on their faces evoke a deep, endless trance-like state of femininity. Both #nyc and Silent Mode raise challenging questions about privacy in public space, making these works striking not only in concept but also in their artistic execution and image selection.

The recent series Dislocated Presences by David Masoko, a street photographer and visual artist based in Amsterdam, brings to mind that same feeling I had when encountering Yeung’s work in 2013. Masoko’s project won second prize in the Series category of the LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2025. Unlike other award-winning works that focused on the vivid emotions of street life in India or the classic play of light and shadow across Europe, Dislocated Presences takes the form of diptychs, highlighting fragments of human figures. The images are deliberately desaturated and softened, evoking the fleeting moment of catching someone’s eye before they disappear. Rather than blurring motion as in long exposure photography, Masoko fades his subjects into a kind of temporary memory, a reconstruction of someone or something remembered, unclear and unreal, yet beautifully so.

Beyond its striking visual language, Dislocated Presences also reflects the nature of contemporary society through its process. Unlike Seto or Mermelstein, Masoko treats the issue of privacy as a central conceptual concern. He witnesses human phenomena without intruding upon them. He does not lift a camera to reveal faces, does not expose identities. His subjects remain anonymous, both visually and conceptually, defined by moments of mutual awareness, brief encounters, and silent departures. The work feels universal and expansive, yet filled with a tangible sense of distance and solitude.

The traces left by “Dislocated Presences” are like a sudden flash of light, leaving behind strange afterimages in the brain, images that vanish almost immediately, yet leave a lasting impression. The structure, concept, and distinct perspective of Masoko’s work resonate with Yeung’s from 2013. For me, this project has created a long-lasting memory, unlike the anonymous figures within it, it does not fade away.

About the Artist
David Masoko is an Amsterdam-based visual artist and conceptual street photographer. He works candidly in public space and edits transparently to explore presence and absence, urban choreography, identity and anonymity, and the ethics of looking—how images construct, withhold, and invite meaning. Masoko works across Europe and Asia. His recent work has received international recognition, including second prize in the 2025 LensCulture Street Photography Awards and an Official Selection in the 2025 International Photography Awards (IPA).