Stages of Persuasion, Artist Statement:
Fantasy works when the participant in the drama plays along with the storyline. Much of my work investigates the powerful role that staged spaces can have in influencing human desires. Idealized and explicit notions of nature, beauty, and even fear are presented in many of the themed restaurants, stores, and amusement parks I’ve photographed.
Increasingly, themed spaces try to engage the spectator with an ‘experience’ that engages all of the senses, not just the visual. Sounds, smells, and lighting all work along with architectural symbols to create an experience which surrounds the participant. The architecture of these spaces often mix and repurpose familiar symbols so that hospitals might resemble spas and shopping malls could look like cathedrals. The camera isolates and repositions the often- disjointed decorative elements in these public spaces.
These locations actively engage the willing participant in fantasy and play; often the notion of fantasy is explicit and consensual. Other locations like the Apple store or IKEA seek to manipulate in a much more subtle way. These consumer spaces play on aspiration and identity with attention to every detail. In these images, devoid of people, the viewer becomes the audience to the absent narratives in these stages of persuasion.