Rafael Concepcion

Rafael Concepcion (born in Danbury, Connecticut, 1993) is an artist whose work primarily deals with the intersection between personal history and human behavior. His ADHD plays a crucial role in his work while using photography to come to terms with aspects of his condition that he might not have otherwise acknowledged without the camera’s presence. His interest in photography as a primary medium stems from his curiosity with the concepts of chance and impulse. Rafael is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s Photography program. He currently lives and works in Boston, MA.

As the Hands of Yesterday Left Mine

It is a longing for connection with others, and a desire for familiarity, that compels me to photograph. My physical understanding of a place is the variable that determines my feeling of safety within it. In an attempt to bury my roots somewhere new, I use my camera to facilitate exploration. Photographs are notes. For me, they are the reminders of where I was and inform where I am going. The images made, in turn, become my amorphous, guiding entity through any state, town, or alleyway, being led only by the child-like impulse to ask the question: “What’s over there?”

The perimeters that I follow when creating a body of work are often geographic. In this instance, they bring me to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Puerto Rico – the places where my family and I live. I am attracted to broken-in and well-loved areas – places that exist threadbare from the passage of time. My interest in these spaces allows me the opportunity to digest the intimate peculiarities of a place, forcing me to call into question my preconceived notions of where I belong, and who is a part of my community.

To view more of Rafael Concepcion’s work please visit his website.