Non-Places
Non-Places began with my daily drive past a series of strip malls in Denton, Texas—structures I came to see as unexpectedly beautiful in the warm light of the evening. In my daily commute, I would view them from the back, a vantage point that is usually discouraged by the designers of such places. Stripped of signage and activity, their monochromatic walls, doors, and gutters revealed themselves as minimalist forms, echoing the geometric precision of painting and sculpture.
Influenced by Marc Augé’s book Non-Places, which describes the transitory spaces of modern life—airports, highways, shopping centers—I saw these buildings as emblematic of environments designed for passage rather than presence. Composed with a romantic sensibility rather than a deadpan gaze, the photographs invite the viewer to contemplate and enjoy these spaces in formal terms. Sitting with these places subverts the intention of their design, which is for people to move through them and on with their lives.
