Yvonne Shaw
The Solitary Now
An ambivalent modernity exists in generic urban spaces: car parks, train stations, alleyways. The interest I have in these non-places relates to how they act as intersections between public and private domains. By staging portraits in these transitional locations I aim to provoke debate about the relationship of the individual to the modern city.
The subjects are seemingly unaware of the photographer; they are caught in a moment beyond the non-place they are occupying. However, despite the deliberate resemblance to candid photographs, these are highly constructed images. Subjects were invited to participate in the project via direct advertising to the modelling agency, StarNow, and also the creative community website, The Big Idea. During each individual photography session which took place in various city spaces, the models were closely directed. The images represent a type of collaboration between subject and photographer, whereby each participant acts a part to produce an image that captures more than a single psychological moment. The tension or slippage between documentary and constructed imagery is harnessed to highlight the interpretive power of photography.
