The Uncanny Valley
"The concept of the uncanny valley suggests that humanoid objects which appear almost, but not exactly like real human beings elicit uncanny, or strangely familiar, feelings of eeriness and revulsion in observers."
- from Wikipedia
My work is an exploration of artifice and photography's role in blurring the lines about what our eyes see as reality but what our lizard brains feel is not. My intention is to create work that explores this disconnect. Are these photographs in the "traditional" sense? In an attempt to move the conversation forward -
THE UNCANNY VALLEY series draws from a direct line of "street photography" influenced by masters like William Klein, Daido Moriyama, Henri Cartier Bresson, Garry Winograd, Helen Levitt and others.
The fundamental difference is that these works were created within a virtual world originally designed as a first person shooter game. In this case, Grand Theft Auto and the mythic world of San Andreas.
By ignoring the violent game play and built in missions and by embracing the randomness of exploring this carefully modeled city in which the action takes place, I have been able to move freely around this world. Often, I will wait for the right light, explore seldom, if ever used or seen parts of these neighborhoods. I will follow synthetically created "extras", or use controlled characters to pose or guide them into the frame.
I have the ability to use virtual lens choices, unimaginable access to roads and highways, cranes and towers and even move with impunity through so-called “dangerous" neighborhoods. As I become immersed in this artificial reality, my experience as a traveler and photographer feels real to me. And I strive to capture the mood, tone and look of the city.
After the capture process is complete I move the photographs into my computer and begin the post process of stripping away the tell-tale clues of the invented modeled environment and replace it with a street feel that often feels like a 70's raw aesthetic.
Each image is carefully re-worked to limit but not bury the artifice which for the viewing experience creates the emotional disconnect we call the uncanny valley.
I print the images using the piezography process with a custom hand blended ink set (created by Jon Cone) blending deep cool carbon blacks, selenium, and warm neutral shades on Hahnemuhle Rag papers. These are in editions of 7.