Raymond Chorneau's book Pushing in a Dark Age (2025) is a modernist pictorial essay that explores the effects of contemporary society on the human condition through black-and-white street photography. The book’s themes emerge from a decade of work, spanning a project that began in Savannah, Georgia, in 2015 and ended in Portland, Oregon, in 2025.
Described as a "modernist pictorial essay on a postmodern phenomena," the book uses a classical, structured photographic style to document the fragmented, disjointed, and often absurd nature of contemporary life. This juxtaposition highlights the tension between art that seeks order and meaning, and a world that seems to defy it.
Like his paintings, Chorneau's photography focuses on the human form, often presenting figures in moments of vulnerability. The street setting emphasizes this fragility, capturing subjects as they navigate public spaces while wrestling with internal struggles.
The collection portrays individuals attempting to find an authentic existence in a world of social, technological, and environmental challenges. This is a recurring theme in Chorneau's work, which seeks to connect with what he calls the "soul level" of human existence.