“Carousel (From the Nocturnal Suburbia series)”, 2004, Chromogenic Print, 23" x 31"
About the Exhibition
The idea for this body of work sprang from a conversation after a walk in my suburban neighborhood. I observed that even though all the houses in our neighborhood look similar from the outside, I know that the people inside them are all quite different. Surprisingly, they embrace the sameness of their houses and lawns with vigor. After living here for a few months or years, the homeowners are content with this and in fact, revolt when someone goes against "the norm". Conformity makes them feel safe and violation of group values frightens them. I decided to begin photographing to investigate this idea of sameness and conformity, while visually representing the empty and lonely feeling that I have living in this environment. I am inspired by the work of photographers like Todd Hido, Jan Staller and Gregory Crewdson. In the Twilight series, Crewdson's cinematic photographs using suburban neighborhoods and residents are filled with strange light and saturated color, investigating the psyche of the people who live there.
When photographing at night, I make long exposures ranging from eight to forty minutes. The images are unexpected and beautiful because on film, suburbia does not look the same at night as it does to the naked eye. The film is able to take in all the light over a long period of time and this transports the neighborhood to a different time and space. This new way of looking at my environment, in a way I am unable to with my own eyes, helps to make real the dreamlike feeling of living in this suburban neighborhood.
There are no people in my photographs. The images appear deserted, which is how my neighborhood appears most of the time. During the day, there is a mass exodus as people leave for work or school and at night everyone sleeps. The absence of people creates images that invite the viewer to invent their own narrative. For me, being outside late at night is a very surreal experience. I walk around quietly so that I don't attract attention or wake anyone up. I feel like I am prowling around a movie set, the homes don't feel authentic and the cars appear like toys. After spending so many hours alone at night in the dark, daytime in my neighborhood feels strange and illusory to me.
