Draft:Joseph Cochran II

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Joseph Cochran II
Born
New York City, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Known forPhotography, video

Joseph Cochran II (born Joseph Christopher Cochran Jr.; April 30, 1990) is an American multidisciplinary artist working across photography and video, often incorporating archival research. His work focuses on civic life, public space, and the systems that shape social and political imagination.

Early life

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Cochran was born Joseph Cochran Jr. in East Harlem, Manhattan. The son of drug addicted parents, he was placed into the custody of his grandmother until 1999, where, after what the artist described as “an especially tough night”, Cochran was placed into New York City’s foster care system. Cochran was later placed with a family in Brownsville, Brooklyn, where he was adopted at age 17.[1]

Cochran has characterized his nine years in Brownsville as turbulent but formative.[1] According to the artist, though he engaged in “regular kid shit,” he experienced ample amounts of violence, both emotional and physical, including frequent clashes with his foster mother, which resulted in frequent disappearances and eventually, Cochran leaving home, aged 19.

In 2011, Cochran and the band P.M.E.R., whom he managed, were the victims of a robbery at their Bedford–Stuyvesant apartment.[2] Following the incident, Cochran relocated to southern New Jersey, where he worked graveyard shifts in a casino; during this period a friend gave him a camera and he began to make photographs.[3][1]

Career

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China

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In 2014, at the invitation of his friend, the artist Denzel Russell, Cochran moved to China, where he spent nearly five years, primarily in Shanghai.[4][1] He first exhibited in a group photography show with Basement 6, a Shanghai-based collective that had discovered his work the previous year.[5] While based there, Cochran helped set up Shanghai Community Radio (SHCR) and founded the publishing imprint Durendal, which produced several small-press titles.[5]

Morocco and Sardinia

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Cochran later relocated to Morocco, where he lived for a period, before moving to the island of Sardinia.[4] While there, he produced his first documentary work, Soggiorno, a text-and-image project about asylum seekers and refugees.[1] He subsequently moved to Belgium, where he remained before returning to the United States.[4]

Return to New York City

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Cochran returned to New York City in 2019.[5] During this time, which he described as “more or less homeless,” he spent nights at the Bowery Residents Committee while working two jobs before refocusing on photography.[1] He produced Lower Depths with BlackMass Publishing, and in 2021 presented the exhibition A Lot of Things Have Changed, A Lot of Things Have Not with Swivel Gallery.[6][7]

In 2023 he took part in The Magic Show, a group exhibition curated by Gogy Esparza in New York.[8] He subsequently published Forays, Frontiers & Flags, a monograph spanning twelve years of work that Office Magazine described as a comprehensive record of his travels and projects.[3]

The Malta Biennale, Zimbabwe and Public Work

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In 2024, Cochran participated in the inaugural Malta Biennale.[9][10] Later that year he was a resident artist at nhereraHUB (Harare) and contributed photographic research to Dambudzo, a collaborative installation by nora chipaumire and Svenja Wichmann, supported by the Goethe-Institut Visual Arts Fund.[11][12]

In 2025, Cochran opened Public Work, his second solo exhibition with Swivel Gallery.[4][13]

Work and practice

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Writers describe Cochran’s approach as research-driven and civically focused, combining photography with interviews and archival material to examine labor, public space, and the systems that organize urban life.[4][13] Profiles note long-form fieldwork across China, Morocco, and Sardinia, and projects that foreground everyday infrastructures and the people who keep cities running.[3][1]

Projects

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Fusillade (2017)

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A single-channel video work produced in Shanghai that assembles found and public-access footage with archival audio to examine propaganda, advertising, and information saturation. Developed during Cochran’s third year living in China, the work draws on traditions of détournement and media critique.[14]

But I Remain as Much a Stranger Today, as I Was The First Day I Arrived (2016–2019)

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The series, made in Sardinia, centers on daily life in Orgosolo and neighboring communities. The project— inspired by James Baldwin’s essay “Stranger in the Village”—presents participant anecdotes alongside photographs and reflects on local institutions and everyday routines.[15][1]

Soggiorno (2018–2019)

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During his time in Sardinia, Cochran created Soggiorno, which combines testimonies and photographs to trace the everyday routes and administrative hurdles faced by asylum seekers and refugees.[1][16]

There Will Be Blood (2020)

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A single-channel video/installation made in collaboration with Denzel Russell, presented in Cologne in 2020. Using edited public-access footage displayed on LED screens, the work examines the militarization of public safety and “warrior” policing culture.[17]

Only You (And You Alone) (2023)

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A 32-minute single-channel video collage focused on Far Rockaway, New York City. The work uses archival audio and video to situate gentrification and displacement alongside local histories, including references to rapper Stack Bundles, Robert Moses–era urban planning, and the impact of Hurricane Sandy.[18] The film continues Cochran’s work with systems and public life developed in earlier pieces such as Fusillade (2017), There Will Be Blood (2020), and Culture Lesson (2021).[18]

Forays, Frontiers & Flags (2023)

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A monograph spanning twelve years of work; Office Magazine described it as a comprehensive record of Cochran’s travels and projects.[3]

The Quartermaster (2024)

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A research-led exhibition at the inaugural Malta Biennale, The Quartermaster reconstructs the life of Cara Mehmed (Giovanni Battista Emmanuelle Pinto, 1723–1749)—an Ethiopian from Tripoli who led an uprising aboard the galley Lupa and was later executed in Malta. The installation draws on Maltese archival materials and combines documents, works on paper, sculpture, and photography.[19][9]

Public Work (2019–ongoing)

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A documentary project on labor and urban infrastructure in New York City, combining photography with interviews and archival material to show how public space is organized and maintained. Coverage has emphasized Cochran’s focus on the people who keep the city running across transit, sanitation, education, nightlife, and other systems. The project was presented in a 2025 solo exhibition at Swivel Gallery.[4][13][20]

Solo exhibitions

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  • Public Work, Swivel Gallery, New York, United States, 2025.[13][4]
  • A Lot of Things Have Changed, A Lot of Things Have Not, Swivel Gallery, Brooklyn, United States, 2021.[21]

Selected group exhibitions

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  • Malta Biennale, Valletta, Malta, 2024.[9][10]
  • The Magic Show, New York, United States, 2023.[8]
  • Third Eye: Panyu Lu, Basement 6, Shanghai, China, 2015.[5]

Selected screenings & installations

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  • There Will Be Blood (single-channel video/installation), Gold+Beton, Cologne, Germany, 2020.[22]

Publications

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  • Lower Depths (2019). BlackMass Publishing.[6]
  • Forays, Frontiers & Flags (2023). Self-published.[3]
  • Barzakh (2024). Swivel Gallery.[23]
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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Many Lives of Joseph Cochran II". Overstandard. May 12, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "Saved by the Cops: Band Nearly Loses Everything in Bed-Stuy". The New York Times. July 2, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Where Joe Cochran Fits In". Office Magazine. December 20, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g ""City Life Shouldn't Be Owned": Joseph Cochran II Wants a New York for the People". Interview Magazine. July 14, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Joseph Cochran II". Epicenter NYC. April 4, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Lower Depths". Printed Matter. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  7. ^ "A Lot of Things Have Changed, A Lot of Things Have Not". josephcochran.net. 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Estiler, Keith (March 9, 2023). "Gogy Esparza's 'The Magic Show' Is a Dystopian Art Fantasy". Hypebeast. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Healy, Claire Marie (April 2, 2024). "The emerging artists exploring resistance in the Mediterranean". Dazed. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Malta gets first biennial". ArtReview. December 6, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  11. ^ "nhereraHUB residents". nhereraHUB. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  12. ^ "Dambudzo". Goethe-Institut. 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d Carollo, Elisa (August 4, 2025). "With Camera and Questions, Joseph Cochran II Turns Photography Into Civic Work". Observer. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  14. ^ "Fusillade". Substack. 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  15. ^ "But I Remain as Much a Stranger Today, as I Was The First Day I Arrived". josephcochran.net. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "Soggiorno". josephcochran.net. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  17. ^ "There Will Be Blood". josephcochran.net. 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Only You (And You Alone)". Substack. 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  19. ^ "The Quartermaster". josephcochran.net. 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  20. ^ "Public Work". Swivel Gallery. 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  21. ^ "A Lot of Things Have Changed, A Lot of Things Have Not". josephcochran.net. 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  22. ^ "There Will Be Blood". josephcochran.net. 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  23. ^ "Barzakh". Swivel Gallery. Retrieved September 18, 2025.

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