Men at night examines man, in a period of existential space, in the suburbs, at night. It is an attempt to explore a daydream in the evening, a pensive moment where alternate lives, hopes, dreams, and unactualized ambitions can be fathomed. The camera, functioning as a portal to the subject, provides access to his life for a second in the night.
In this series of portraits, I attempt to document a secret ambition, possibly something left unsaid or undone, yet revealed through a gaze. Where would these men be if they were not living their current lives: if they were not husbands, providers, fathers, workers, and inhabitants of somewhat sedentary suburban lives? If not this, than what other life would they have chosen? Where would they be if they were not here?
Being a product of the suburbs, and someone hyper-aware of suburban stereotypes, it has become a natural influence on my work as a photographer. It is a place when an oasis and emptiness exist simultaneously. I find it worthy of analysis and exploration.
Images in this series are captured digitally using only ambient light found along the perimeters of each man’s home. I try not to alter the environment in any way, just utilize it as it exists, much like the subjects themselves.
Stacy Swiderski is a New Jersey based fine art photographer, artist, and educator. She is predominantly interested in night photography and issues surrounding suburban identity.
