No Vacancy consists of black & white photographs layered, in photoshop, with a block of color. Each image was taken with a medium format Leica camera. The archival pigment prints are available in three sizes: approximately 20×30, 30×45 & 45×70 inches.
wendelwirth.com
My relentless obsession of both photography and minimalism led me to layer a block of color on top of the image, essentially hiding a piece of it. I became deeply curious about the relationship between photography and minimalism; how we see and how we experience both an image and an art form. I found that combining the two adds a sense of movement and in turn, alludes to cinema and its heightened narrative. The color blocks, each playing a unique roll amongst its black and white counterpart, inject character and complexity to the work, asking the viewer to experience the image differently while ultimately commenting on photography as an art form.
wendelwirth.com
Small towns consume me like a favorite novel. I read slowly exploring every word. The simple architecture, local industry, aging hotels, all but vacant motels, rain soaked cows, fenced in dogs, sparsely visited gas stations, single dirt roads, weathered hands…all construct a narrative that ignite me with a multitude of questions. No Vacancy reflects the conjured narratives that begin to form within us as we pass through unfamiliar places.
wendelwirth.com
If I’m being honest, this is essentially more about print-making rather than photography. I’m painting with light – or least, that’s the way it feels to me.
To take photographs is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
Photography is a response to the world, not a reflection of it.
Don’t worry about cool, make your own uncool.
