Modern Paradox, Joshua K. Jackson (Signed)

Joshua K. Jackson's latest monograph is set against the backdrop of our new chaotic society where we contend with often overwhelming feelings of fear, anxiety and loneliness, whilst simultaneously seeking to draw closer to each other in the hopes of a better world.

Communication is easier than ever. We can reach out to strangers and share our points of view with anyone, anywhere, any time. We scroll through seemingly endless tweets made by people we either admire or despise, espousing views we alternately champion and detest. Everyone has a voice, but at the same time loneliness abounds in overpopulated cities. Love is sought online, and hate flourishes in a virtual world that seems to grow even as the physical one shrinks.

Modernity promised us freedom, but instead we seem to stumble from one crisis to another, at the mercy of invisible threats. We are made afraid by the sinister machinations we hear reported from pundits on increasingly untrustworthy television sets, or the conspiracies proclaimed by even less trustworthy influencers on social media. The more we learn the less we seem to understand and our disconnection makes us feel trapped in an information overload which we cannot escape.

And yet, there are precious real life connections made all the time, and made all the more meaningful for their scarcity. People joining together, whether in protest, fighting for a better future for us all to live in, or gathering in joy, hands touching, celebrating our victories and achievements. Hope is what keeps us from drifting away from each other, it unites us despite the constant background noise in the belief of a better, more connected world.