Sebastian Tierney

Monachopsis is an obscure word meaning to subtly feel out of place, persistently uncomfortable within your surroundings. I’ve been plagued by mental health struggles for nearly half of my life and the feeling of monachopsis is one that I know well. This photo is trying to capture that, the persistent creeping crushed blacks surrounding the subject, the subject’s head bowed down in exhaustion and defeat, and the angle low to express an uneasiness and helplessness in the face of overwhelming hardship. But imagine that feeling every day.  Sometimes it is hard to still feel life when this is what I navigate.