stircrazy narrates the downward spirals of my addictive relationship with stress. In trying to overcome feelings of meaninglessness, productivity became an anchor value. New York is the backdrop of all of the images presented; it was often an aggravating factor in this vicious circle. Tightened frames mirror the claustrophobic component of social mimicry. External gazes were both the instigation and metric against which I measured myself. This gaze is mirrored through questioning looks in the book’s double spreads. In striving to do as much as possible, I often found myself emotionally strained. The thinner I stretched myself, the harder I wanted to pull on the edges. The subjects of stircrazy embody this progressive decline in their gradually declining emotional states. Eventually, this tension becomes too heavy, and the subjects succumb physically. Despite these charged emotions, stircrazy aims to explore them through romanticism and comedy. It plays on the iconic photography location to anchor its subject in the city's aesthetic; they become an integral part of its character. The outlandish displays of self-expression mirror the all consuming nature of the city.
All photographs by Robinson Germain
Book design by Gracie Davis
Printed by Conveyor Studios in an edition of 50 in November 2025
A very special thank you to Gracie Davis for helping with graphic design and formatting, Wesley Stringer for teaching me how to bind and creating the first mock-up, Julia Hill for helping with photo selection and sequencing, and the extended phtsdr staff for shaping the way I look at photography