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DEBOLSKI Ryan / ライアン・デボルスキー

LIKE

LIKE

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LIKE is a photobook by American photographer Ryan Debolski. It features work shot in Oman between 2014 and 2015 while he was a Fulbright scholar. It was published in 2020 by Gnomic Book in a limited edition of 450 copies.

Debolski initially visited Oman to photograph the country's deserts, mountain regions, and urban landscapes under construction. However, after encountering immigrant laborers gathering at the coast, he expanded his focus to capture their daily lives. Living in collective housing and working in harsh environments, these men—who had left their homes to work—would gather by the sea to swim, talk, and spend their fleeting moments of leisure.

The book combines color photographs capturing the men's bodies and expressions with black-and-white images of deserts, construction sites, heavy machinery, roads, and remnants of consumer goods. Furthermore, messages exchanged between Debolski and the workers via WhatsApp are juxtaposed with the photographs. Through the words of the subjects themselves, the book reveals their thoughts on family back home, working conditions, a life defined by constant mobility, and the transient connections formed with friends.

The volume concludes with an essay by Jason Koxvold of Gnomic Book, which examines the relationship between immigrant labor and global capitalism, linking it to representations of workers in art history and the visual language of commercial photography.

By turning his gaze toward the bodies and human relationships during the time spent away from the workplace, rather than the work site itself, this collection depicts the social structures surrounding contemporary immigrant laborers. It was shortlisted for the 2020 Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards and received a Jury's Special Mention.

[Title] LIKE
[Publisher] Gnomic Book
[Publication Year] 2020 (First edition, limited to 450 copies)
[Pages] 136 pages (96 plates)
[Size] Approx. 243*321*13mm / 745g
[Format] Softcover
[Language] English
[Title Reading] Like
[Author/Editor] Ryan Debolski/Photography, Jason Koxvold/Text and Design
[Printing/Binding] Printed in the Netherlands
[ISBN] 978-1-7338877-2-4
[Condition] Used [7] Very Good (minor scuffs on edges)
[Accessories] -
[Included in] -
[Related Exhibition] -

Ryan Debolski

American photographer. After studying linguistics, he began creating photography and completed an MFA in photography at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

His interest in photographic expression was sparked by the Düsseldorf School of photographers, including Bernd & Hilla Becher, Axel Hütte, and Thomas Struth. Influenced by their objective depictions using large-format cameras, he later developed a practice focused on social subjects through photography.

Between 2014 and 2015, he stayed in Oman on a Fulbright scholarship. His project, initially centered on architecture and landscapes, evolved into a body of work revolving around his interactions with immigrant laborers. He incorporates dialogues with the people he met at the shore and ongoing communication via WhatsApp into his photographic practice.

In 2020, he published the photobook "LIKE" through Gnomic Book. The work received a Jury's Special Mention at the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards.

< Related Figures >

Ryan Debolski
Jason Koxvold
Bernd Becher
Hilla Becher
Axel Hütte
Thomas Struth
Richard Avedon
Lewis Hine
Steven Meisel
Georges Seurat
Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards
Gnomic Book

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