Train Set of Decay I

Installation and Photographs
2005

Fascinated by the images of urban decay seen in 2000s-era video games like SimCity and Grand Theft Auto, as well as 1970s-era films like Mean Streets and Wild Style, I created a hyperrealistic, miniature simulacrum of New York City in a similar state of chaos, commenting on both hobbyism and urban voyeurism. Using model railroad kits and plaster casting, I remixed a specific language of signs, fire escapes, water towers, tenements, and lofts that evoked a strong sense of place even though the scenes never actually existed in real life. I then utilized the sets to generate photographs that evoke a cognitive trickery, in which the unreality of the photographs only emerges after minutes of close study. The project draws upon the work of James Casebere and Gordon Matta-Clark.