For some, covering one's car with a sheet of tarpaulin is a simple and practical means of protecting it from the elements, preserving it in all of its pristine automotive splendour. For others, however, it's the portal to a tongue-in-cheek and endlessly beguiling game of hide-and-seek, allowing station-wagons worldwide to anthropomorphise into mischievous creatures who descend into chaos the second our eyes are turned. New York born, LA-based photographer Clint Woodside is of the latter camp, and his interest is contagious.
This September and October, he presents his ongoing series Undercover Cars at These Days gallery, allowing the rest of the world access to his playful preoccupation. From San Francisco, California, to Melbourne, Australia, Woodside has photographed vehicles under wraps in the most cheerfully unexpected of spots, creating an oddly charming collection of images. Plus, as the gallery explains, there’s more to these works than meets the eye. “While the recurring subject of these pictures is ‘cars’, the real subject remains hidden in plain sight: the intimate, everyday human narratives swirling around the cars,” says These Days. “The photos are alive with endearing residential architecture and everyday human habitation/habit – well-worn apartments and houses, painted garage doors, oil-stained driveways – and the familiar flora of Southern California – looming, disheveled palms; massive weird shrubs; dense, dark ficus trees; unruly ivy.” What’s more, Woodside’s obsession itself sits front and centre, making these shots a curious self-portrait of the man himself.
Happy Monday! #AnOtherHappyMonday
Clint Woodside: Undercover Cars runs until October 23, 2016 at These Days, LA.
