Gregory Crewdson

Gregory Crewdson, Brief Encounter

Second exposure - Depicts scenes of anxiety and dislocation.

Gregory Crewdson understood at a very early age the psychological powers of pictures after his father and psycho-analysis took a young Crewdson to see a Dianne Arbus exhibition.

Crewdson searches for the familiar and the strange, in his 'Twilight' series Crewdson creates what appears to be standard streets scenes, a mixture of reality and fiction, photographed within a documentary style.

For me Brief Encounter uses its lighting to create warmth within an otherwise wintry and gloomy setting. The traffic lights glow amber while the shops gives subtle burst of orange, almost blending two moods into one, creating that strange moment of a familiar place becoming unfamiliar.


Gregory Crewdson has been compared to David Lynch, an American filmmaker who is known for his distinctive and unconventional approach to filmmaking. The first piece of Lynch's work I came across is the 1990's american television show 'Twin Peaks'. Covering genres of drama, mystery, and fantasy amongst others, Twin Peaks was a psychological thriller, a quite little town where nobody was who they appeared to be. Twin Peaks is one of experiences that has stayed with me, it came around at a time in my life where I was looking for an escape from reality.


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