When I Began the Vacancy Series,

 

Circus Motel-mixed media photograph

I had no idea how poignant it would be to the future unforeseen economic collapse, and subsequent mass foreclosures of American real estate. I was instead concerned with the psychological ramifications of violence, in particular dissociation, and the dissociative episodes which often occur during and after violent experiences. In these images, I used vacant dwellings as a visual metaphor for dissociative processes in which individuals disconnect, or dissociate from the current moment in time and space.

Circus Motel II-mixed media photograph

This process is often used as a defensive posture when confronted with uncontrollable and overwhelming experiences of natural or human engendered violence and can include a range of differing responses, from severe loss of attention to place, to loss of memory, to out of body experiences. Experiencing a dissociative episode during a violent or traumatic experience makes an individual more likely to develop a trauma related anxiety disorder called PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder.

Vacant Structure-mixed media photograph

According to the National Center for PTSD, over 5 million individuals will suffer from the disorder during any given year in the United States. Though the public often associates PTSD with combat veterans, victims of natural disasters and domestic violence and even small children can be affected by it. Ultimately, violence can create crippling maladies in its victims that disorder their thinking abilities, and inhibit their daily capacity to function.