Lust, desire and the darkness of human nature lie at the heart of a Brighton photographer's cinema-inspired images
Brighton-based photographer Matt Henry draws most of his photographic inspiration from America of the 1960s and ’70s. Using props sourced from both the UK and the United States, Henry construct elaborates sets for his staged scenes.
BJP: How and why did Blue River Falls come about?
MH: It’s personal work so it was self-driven, rather than commissioned, but it’s difficult to isolate the seed as it’s two years since I started it. From memory, I think it was a combination of failed relationships and bingeing on American neo-noir movies like Blood Simple, Blue Velvet, Cape Fear, and recently Drive, as well as the darker elements of the television seriesTwin Peaks [that sparked the series].
BJP: What is the work about? What do you want to convey through these images?
MH: At heart I suppose the work’s about the inner conflict that we face as human beings in terms of our rationality as set against our base drives and desires. There’s a strong urge we have as human beings to find this person, this partner, with which to journey through life. And the urge is so strong that it can lead us into hugely destructive relationships that defy common sense, and yet we persist like moths to the flame. But there’s also a slightly masochistic side of humanity that invites this suffering. I find some beauty in that. There’s romance, a radiance in that darkness, which sits at the core of the project...