These epic, gorgeously cinematic photos delve into some of our deepest secrets.
Untitled (Penitent Daughter), Gregory Crewdson, 2001
Their creator, American photographer Gregory Crewdson, has always been fascinated by the human psyche. Growing up, Gregory’s father was a psychoanalyst and had an office in the basement of their Brooklyn home.
Gregory remembers attempting to listen to his father's sessions as a small child, pressing his ear to the floorboards of their living room.
I look back on it now, that’s a really potent metaphor for what I do as a photographer – that is trying to project a fantasy of something that’s forbidden, a secret.
Untitled (Woman in flowers), Gregory Crewdson, 1998
Untitled (Rug Lady), Gregory Crewdson, 1999
Gregory's pictures present those secrets without offering any answers or resolutions. The stories they tell are open-ended, and ambiguous.
Unlike many filmmakers he admires, like Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and Steven Spielberg, the stories he tells have no beginning, middle, or end. They offer just one single moment which can take many months, even years, to create.
My pictures are about a search for a moment, a perfect moment. And for that instance, my life makes sense.
Untitled (Sewer Mystery), Gregory Crewdson, 1999
