Artist Statement

My name is Luke Cocks and I am currently a freshman at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta. My parents live artistic lives. I was fortunate to have grown up in a family where art was not only appreciated but fostered. My father is a Creative Director for his own Television Production Company, and my mom designs her own jewelry.  My parents both pushed and supported me to better my craft. My passion is photography. I simply love taking photos.

Living a life of adventure is a huge part of who I am, in fact it is essentially who I am. Photography provides me with an escape from my common day reality and forces me into the unknown, where things are different and unexpected. These environments fuel my creativity. I love photography above all artforms, because it takes me places I could never imagine going and it forces me to work with what I have. I don’t always go into shooting with a plan. I often let the places I find inspire my images. I love that photography gives you the freedom to create spontaneously.

In my conceptual work, I explore these themes by looking at urban decay and the lone figure.  The figures interaction in these desolate locations reflect the life my models are experiencing. We are teeangers, still exploring who we are to become in this big, unknown and sometimes lost world. Urban decay is the epitome of a plan gone wrong. Sometimes things do not go the way that we expect them to. As teenagers, we are just starting to figuring this out. That life is about how you deal with the unexpected. There is a constant contrast between being alone yet having so much to explore. I use people within my conceptual work to give the viewer a personal connection. My models rarely look at the camera directly. This allows the viewer to put themselves into each piece and mentally explore the where and why.

For my documentary work, I am presenting my sightings in Africa. I have very strong family ties to South Africa, and had the incredible opportunity to live there this summer. I took a course to become a certified safari guide and during my training was able to track and document many exotic animals. These pictures capture my own personal adventure. Just like the lone figure in my conceptual series, I try to capture isolated moments in my documentary images. The lion at night, the wild dog and her cubs, the elderly woman staring into my lens; these are all examples of isolation. The private moment between mother and cub and the moment the subject engages with the artist are both intimate moments that reflect the solitude of life and the ability to get lost in the moment.. I had an incredible time shooting what I saw, and was very grateful for the experience of living in both South Africa and Botswana. The inspiration behind my work, is my love of both travel and the outdoors, as well as my strong connection to my own African roots.

These two series are both grounded in the themes of Adventure and Isolation. At whatever location I am taking these photos, there is usually an element of risk that fuels my drive to take these pictures. Whether I find myself in some lost or abandoned place that I am not supposed to be in, or deep in the African bush chasing dangerous game on foot, there is a huge element of risk and surprise that contributes to my craft.  I am on a literal adventure while I shoot and I want my viewer to experience that same feeling when they look at my images. I want them to feel as if they are on an adventure too.

I would like to pursue my passion in photography as a future career. Everyday I grow more confident and skilled in my craft, and I am very involved within the art community. My work has been published in the Photographer's Forum Magazine and in my school's Art and Literary Magazine. I am currently the president of the National Arts Honors Society at my school and lead many arts focused service projects and trips with this group. I am also the creator and designer of our school's annual Art and Literary Magazine. I participate on my school’s drawing team every year at the annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park. I have also had the incredible opportunity to go on my school’s annual trip to New York City where the more experienced members of our art program get to experience the many different art museums that New York has to provide. Traveling is a very important source of inspiration for me as an artist, and I have been fortunate and blessed to have traveled to many different places, such as South Africa, Mexico, Ireland, Wyoming, and Botswana. Through my work you see me as I am. Living life to the fullest through my hard work and dreams.