Haunted Within the Modern City: A Set of Studies of Dislocation and Isolation

Three of these photographs are from a series I have been creating called Ghost Waltz, which examines the very emotions labeled within the title. It is ongoing. If there is one thing Ghost Waltz has taught me, it's that I tend to see the world in high contrast. It perhaps can be considered a form of projection, where I need to see my inner world in visual form in order to understand it. It is also a meditation of the irony in being isolated with others who appear to feel just as remote, so we are all together in this sense of isolation but yet deeply apart from each other. The last three focus less on the human element and more on the dislocation, the ephemera of time and space, and how that can add to a sense of groundless-ness. As one of these photographs dates back to 2011, it's apparent that I have been looking for the meaning of our strange reality in these streets and alleyways for a long time. From LensCulture Review: "Diana, your approach in the first three pictures is pulsated by a cinematic narrative, with "characters" that seem plucked from a film noir scene, and architectural settings hidden deep within the darkness of the urban labyrinth. I used the word "characters" instead of figures, which is more suitable when we describe photographs, because somehow you have managed to imply a feeling of an ongoing situation -things that already happened and others that are about to happen, and we will never know. The staticity of the frame keeps its secrets locked. A couple sits upon the stairs in front of a church's door. A man in a black suit looks down at his phone in a moment of silent pause. A solitary woman walks down a darkened street. Subtle moments of people are rendered by a noirish, cinematic atmosphere that withholds more than it provides. Many photographers worry whether or not their pictures tell the story clearly. But who said that art is about clarity? Clarity is rather the artist's enemy, not ally, and this applies to all arts. Photographers usually value technical elements, composition, light, and gesture, but the photographs that really move the audience are those that pose questions, more questions than provide answers. That is exactly what your pictures do; they pose questions instead of telling it all in advance. Your approach imposes on the viewer a need: "I want to know what is going on here," and that is how they get engaged with the subjects portrayed. So, if I were to summarize your storytelling as expressed in the first three images, I would say that it is characterized by a voyeuristic perspective rendered by the dramatic interaction of light and shadow upon emotionally isolated figures that melt into abstraction, attesting a world that is slipping away. The feeling produced is both haunting and nostalgic, like from a bygone era. In picture 4, [t]he night atmosphere makes the mystery in the picture feel somewhat explicit; that is to say, the subject feels mysterious because of what it is -an empty alley. Compared to pictures 1, 2, and 3, where the sense of mystery relies on the unspoken questions posed, picture 4 feels a little bit narratively obvious. However, there is a sense of emotional load in the frame, so along with the well-crafted composition, it makes the image quite captivating. Picture 5 is eye-catching, mostly due to the shallow depth of field. Some may say that the image relies too much on the subject, and possibly I would agree with that. But in terms of visuality, the picture feels unexpectedly eye-catching. Very interesting execution of craft, Diana. The last image expresses something strange, something expressionistic, like a scene from Tim Burton's films, or, to go even deeper, like a reflection of the German Expressionist film style of the early 20th century. If there was something I would prefer to be missing, it would be the human figure in the background. I feel that its presence keeps the image hooked on reality while it tries to escape to the realm of surrealism. I am satisfied with your approach and performance; however, you have approached the scene with poise and subtlety."