My thesis work consisted of building and photographically documenting sets of SROs (single room occupancy housing) in order to understand the spaces used as housing for people that were formerly homeless, and who live with mental health and substance use issues. The work explores the idea of “late photography”, ie. photographs that are taken after an initial event, and the relation between documentary style truth telling and photographic recreation. Through the use of built sets, I recreate scenes based on memories I have of these spaces—the goal being to investigate whether these images of recreated spaces can stand in for the actual event. Within my research and investigation, I explore how these staged rooms photographs evoke ennui: feelings of absence/presences, boredom, and the uncanny. My thesis concludes by addressing the difficulty of separating these binary states true/false, absence/presence, and stimulation/boredom suggested by these photographs, and discovering through the recognition of their inherent overlap.
