Collective Movement

Montréal-based photographer Sean Mundy (b. 1991) creates minimal, conceptual imagery through photography and digital manipulation. In the below series, groups of nameless figures gather in formation – creating uniform crowds or walking in single file. Elsewhere, a swarm of arrows pierces a bright white wall.


The compositions are defined by a sense of anonymity, which creates tension and uncertainty. “Often, the figures in my images are self-portraits,” says Mundy. “I will almost always obscure discernible character traits in the images; I’m most interested in the roles the figures “play”, and less about them in particular.”

The images are, Mundy explains, uncanny re-imaginings of everyday collective happenings in our world. He describes them as “semi-surreal and slightly removed from reality, highlighting notions of groupthink and hivemindedness.” We see characters, en masse, scrambling over rocks and lying on grey concrete steps.


The artist combines visual vocabularies from a range of sources, using symbolism and surrealist tropes to “probe at themes of division and conflict.” Provocative and, at times, dark in nature, these shots manipulate the human form – asking questions about the psychology behind group behaviour.


seanmundyphotography.com | @seanjmundy


All images courtesy Sean Mundy.
1. Gather
2. Breaking Formation
3. Align
4. Puncture
5. Legion
6. Steps