(The
documentation of single men’s bedrooms)
The
rooms are often spare. Objects are placed within an arm's length
of the bed. There is a hierarchy to this arrangement: Alarm clock,
lamp, records or CD's, then books. Other than the occasional poster
or picture, personal embellishments are kept to a minimum. The
bed is routinely unmade. The sheets (if any) are rumpled in a tangle
of musky smell and navy blue. There is sincerity in this restraint.
Light
is negligible; these are mostly dark places. Windows are undressed,
other than blinds. Natural light floods in when it can, and brings
with it a cleanliness and clarity that is otherwise neglected.
In
photographing these spaces I am framing a reality using only natural
or incandescent light. The resulting photographic images are sterile
and dispassionate. They capture reality, but negate the essence
of the interior itself. For this reason, I choose to make paintings
of these interiors.
The
paintings are romantic in their social realism; a celebration of
the young single male. Some paintings are more abstract than others;
each is an interpretation of an interior and its absent occupant.
They are both document and fantasy.
*This
project began in July 2003 and was completed in May 2004.
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