Continuing through October 1, 2011
Inspired by the recent spate of home foreclosures, photographer Ross Sawyers creates domestic environments touched with what some might see as vandalism. Gestural marks cross dwelling spaces in a way that raises issues of territoriality, possession and the looming challenge to them. Vacant rooms are hit with the lush detail of what ends up invoking a firework launched indoors.
The architecture is plain, so the visual interest lies in its destruction. To shoot these photographs Sawyers makes model rooms, employing half-inch strips of wood to create realistic flooring. In one image (all works are untitled) the floor is glossy magenta, in another it glints gold. What appears as a plume of smoke is in fact a ragged tear in the sheetrock wall, with light falling inside. While these photographs capture moments of theater, their strong use of light and shadow allows them to read like drawings to seductive effect. Especially charming are the miniature black paintings on bare walls.
