WHERE WE SLEPT

 

I produced this series of images while I travelled with my partner and two small children through the USA this summer. For four weeks, we slept each night in one room with two double beds, usually a motel. I was the last to leave the room in the morning before we checked out as I was making sure we didn’t leave anything behind. I photographed each room before I finally left. The images are not set-up, I photographed each room exactly how it was left behind. With little time to spare and a family waiting in reception, I relied on natural light and in some cases existing room lighting, to produce these images.

 

The photographs present a unique look at a family on the move through the USA. What is left behind gives the viewer clues about the family who occupied the room, often just for one night. Ultimately, the photographs present the intimate sphere of an untidy, slept-in bedroom, usually hidden from view.

 

Inspired by a photograph I took of my family during the early hours in the Travel Inn, New York, our first stop, I considered to take this idea further. I was fascinated by the way the light fell onto the slept-in blankets and I made the decision to photograph each room once everybody had left, to record the traces of our live together.