Grace Weston
Although I never depict actual humans in my photographs, the human psyche is undeniably at the center of my work. In this series, I've created miniature staged narrative Noir scenes. Lone characters are cast into nighttime scenarios in stripped-down environments, rife with mystery and tension.
The settings are decidedly suburban: cul-de-sacs, dark and empty roads, the small town bar, private basements, and bedrooms - all offering an impression of seclusion, ripe for clandestine schemes. We get to squirm with the sense of being voyeurs, drawing our own assumptions. As witnesses, are we implicated? Do the characters know one another? How are they entwined? What are their motives? Are they heroes or villains, or a muddy cocktail of each?
Upon reflection, I can see that these images are inspired not only from the television and film mysteries and spy stories of my childhood but also from the sense I had of shadowy adult dramas around me. This was the 60's and parenting was decidedly different than now. The grown-ups I witnessed occupied a detached adult reality and seemed to harbor secrets - they smoked cigarettes, drank highballs, discussed divorce, came and went on their own, and led lives both dark and exotic to my mind. I was the silent observer, attempting to decode their mysterious world. Although I felt drawn to understand it, I knew it was not a warm and welcoming place. I was left to my own imagination to decipher what I observed and invent my own accounts.
My props and characters may come from a child's world, but these are adult stories.