Some of us see a room and think of function first; a place to sleep, a place to work. For others, looks matter more; even if that chair isn’t the most comfortable, it looks terrific with that sofa. Photographer Brooke DiDonato sees a space and sets about upsetting the apple cart. “You sort of know what to expect in your living room or kitchen, so in a sense, they’re the perfect backdrop for something unusual to happen.”
DiDonato’s penchant for turning everyday interiors into realms of the unreal is on full display in Brooke DiDonato: Take a Picture, It Will Last Longer (Thames & Hudson). The images, in which she usually appears – with her face hidden – ride a fine line between comedy and commentary. Standing on a stairway with striped wallpaper draped over her blue-suited figure, curled up nude in a firebox, her body parts sometimes displaced (arms where her legs should be), she shifts between something recognizable and something not quite.
“I started photographing myself somewhat out of desperation, but I wasn’t very comfortable as a subject, so I found creative ways to hide my face. People often remarked how the pictures felt universal, or in some cases, eerie, because the subject cannot be identified. That tension was really interesting to me, and over time, I began photographing all subjects this way.”
DiDonato often shoots in the Ohio house she grew up in, built in the 70s and never redecorated. The color palette and patterns of the era add to the engaging peculiarity of her work. “The combination of dusty pastels and soft lighting is not intended to be a focal point, but rather, a tool to lull the viewer into a momentary feeling of stability.” Momentarily.
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