Working at the Chihuly Garden and Glass was beneficial in the sense that it exposed me to some really fascinating and truly remarkable creative folks. What I miss the most is the laughs and the enriching brainstorms we would have with one another in the galleries about projects we were developing or dreaming about.
It really helped me push myself to expand on my creativity and experiment with different subject matters. One such case is I was leaving work one night and was walking under the giant red statue in Seattle Center when I looked over to my left at the “76” gas station. It was lit amongst the blackness, and deserted. I was really captivated with it’s quiet & eerie sense of existence. I saw it as a beautiful thing that is overlooked, taken for granted, and haunting. It was there that I came up with the idea of photographing Seattle after nightfall. Catching buildings or signs that are a part of the city, but not necessarily always celebrated. Some of it is unique (Elephant Car Wash, City Market, the Marquee lit Rite-Aid), and some of it is a static staple to a city (gas stations, McDonald’s, etc.).
The project is called “Seattle: Aftah Dahk” and must have the New England accent attributed to it :) A way to fold the country in half and have both ends together. A representation of where I am, and where I was.
I spent two nights during Labor Day weekend 2018 skulking around Seattle, being a night-stalker with my camera and tripod. Talking to people that were curious about my project, but mostly trying my best to be amongst the shadows. Photographing places that are a part of my life; places that are in my neighborhood that I see daily. This is in a sense an indirect self-portrait.
Marquee lit Rite Aid on Broadway
The ‘76” on Denny and Broad. The muse for this project.