Trees, Closely Watched
These photographs were shot in modest, well-worn, suburban cities in central and inland Southern California. Built in the 1950s and 60s, these cities provided a new home and future to a post-war population. This is where I grew up and, after 25 years, I returned. The areas I remembered were fading away, and I was struck by the simultaneous growth and decline. Initially, it was the buildings that interested me; I shot them in formal, almost symmetrical compositions. Then I began shooting the surrounding shrubbery with the same architectural approach. I liked the way the buildings and plants worked together, so that is how the project evolved. I have opted to avoid traditional, documentary-style photography; instead I have photographed in primarily static compositions, reflecting change, irony and evolution.
From there, emerged the idea of photographing teenage girls alone in their rooms, an area that they control, decorate, trash and be themselves in. Those rooms reflected the girls’ personalities. I spent quite a bit of time with each girl, so she was fully comfortable with me and able to let down her guards and be herself. I was fascinated to discover a person on the cusp on becoming an adult, but desperately holding on to the child she just barely left behind, a person on the edge between two worlds. Posters of rock stars were often displayed above a bed still covered with stuffed animals; mirrors were heavily decorated and always an important part of the room, a reflection of the girls’ image to the outside world.
This project is in progress. I would like to combine images of girls in their rooms from different part of the world, especially the worlds I have access to, mainly the Middle East, Europe and the US.
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