SOME
SORTA
PARADISE
by
DAVID ZHENG
NEW YORK CITY
Some Sorta Paradise is an ongoing photographic series by David Zheng, a New York–based artist born and raised in the Lower East Side, exploring the city as a psychological landscape, less as a material place and more as a state of mind that oscillates between ambition, instability, and desire.
The title takes inspiration from the story of the “Garden of Eden” and the idea of falling from paradise - a shocking shift from innocence and bliss to knowledge and power; or at least the insatiable desire for it.
NYC is a race to the top. And what it promises is not necessarily what it gives. This collection moves left to right, up and down, between abstraction and familiarity to capture the myth.
It distills and compresses the city’s range of moments and emotions that feel both surreal and grounded.
Some Sorta Paradise: New York selected works
Hand Laundry, Gelatin Silver, 19 x 12.5 inches
Bliss, Gelatin Silver, 39 x 26.5 inches
Some Sorta Paradise #1, Gelatin Silver, 40 x 26.5 inches
On the Bowery, Gelatin Silver, 19 x 12.5 inches
Tabula Rasa, Gelatin Silver, 39 x 26.5 inches
Volatile Proximity, Gelatin Silver, 60 x 23 inches
Snake and Arm, Gelatin Silver, 39 x 26.5 inches
The Dance, Gelatin Silver, 39 x 26.5 inches
Some Sorta Paradise #2, Gelatin Silver, 39 x 26.5 inches
The Dancing Girl, Gelatin Silver, 19 x 12.5 inches
Everytime I close my eyes, Gelatin Silver, 39.75 x 26.5 inches
Constructed through memory, energy, and possibility.
It’s an honest attempt to present the pulse of the city.
not as I see it, but as I feel it.
Some Sorta Paradise
becomes a personal portrait of New York
About
David Zheng (b. 1985) is a New York based artist, born and raised in the Lower East Side. Working primarily with silver gelatin prints, his practice is shaped by a lived experience of the city; it’s density, rhythm, and constant movement.
His images focus on light, form, and atmosphere, capturing New York as it’s felt rather than documented. Rooted in analog darkroom processes, the work carries a distinct physicality—grain, contrast, and texture that translate beyond the print.
Zheng’s photographs and artist books are held in private collections across the United States, as well as in institutional collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Center for Book Arts.
He works out of his darkroom in Brooklyn, New York.
