Photographer Removes Smartphones From People’s Hands To Illustrate A Point

• Eric Pickersgill, a professional artist and photographer, has created an interesting photo series he called ‘Removed.’
• In the sasid series, he explores the irony of people being physically present with loved ones but being too occupied with technology at the same time.
• The photos show the models posing as if they are using a smartphone – but without holding actual mobile devices.

The smartphone is definitely one of the most important inventions of our time. The technology has not only allowed us to communicate with our loved ones faster but has even made it possible for all of us to search information online, watch movies, play games, take photos and videos, and much, much more.

Like most technologies, however, mobile devices also has its disadvantages. We’ve all heard about the dangers of smartphone addiction which can affect both the young and the old in many different ways. If used improperly, these devices can surely be a distraction from the things – or people – that matter most.

In an interesting photo series he posted online, artist and photographer Eric Pickersgill has shown us what we, humans, look like when we’re too busy with our phones. The twist here, of course, is that he actually removed the phones from the pictures.

According to Pickersgill, he came up with the idea for the series after observing a family of four in a New York cafe where the father and the two daughters were extremely busy with their phones. Meanwhile the mom, who didn’t have a device, looked “sad and alone” while she was with them.

There is indeed an “addictive force that promotes the splitting of attention between those who are physically with you and those who are not,” he described.

Pickersgill eventually decided to recreate that moment in a series and called it ‘Removed’ to illustrate his point.

Go check out some of the images here:

#1.

#2.

#3.

#4.

#5.

#6.

#7.

#8.

You can also watch this video feature:

For further information about the project or to see more of Pickersgill’s photos, you may visit the Removed’s official website.