Suburban Presences

Suburban Presences

Photography by Danielle Fliegel

AUGUST 30 – OCTOBER 10, 2021

stArt.dt

“The images in this exhibition were created by shooting with Kodak Portra 800 color negative film using a medium format camera. I think of this body of work as a kind of sociological study. I am drawn to the monotony of suburban spaces, and the dichotomies of obscurity versus revelation and privacy versus exposure. I shoot at night as a counterpoint to the idea of light as a revealing essence. These homes are lit only by the moon and artificial light, which uncovers their similar nature. The accompanying domestic elements such as satellite disks, garbage cans, and flowers appear to be attempts at comfort. 

During our quarantined existence, these homes served to further isolate and remove their inhabitants from their social lives. Behind shuttered doors and closed curtains lie individuals unaware of my presence. At first glance, this body of work consists of various suburban homes, but it is those who reside within them that enabled me to make these photos possible. Given the available light emanating from windows and doors and signifying the presence of someone home, I was able to capture visible evidence of habitation throughout the neighborhood. I chose to enlarge these images to parallel the sense of scale and awe one experiences when approaching a “foreign” architectural entity.

I hope to evoke the sense of solitude, loneliness, and seclusion we have all felt during this ongoing pandemic, and how it has made even the familiarity of suburbia strange to us.”

Danielle Fliegel, 2021

Per the WFU guidelines, face coverings must be worn by all visitors to the stArt gallery while indoors, regardless of vaccination status– effective August 16, 2021.