Suburban areas are a part of people’s daily lives, situated around the edge of every city. Created as a place for families, they provide a sanctuary for the ideal life. Made up of private spaces which commonly look the same, home owners will often find various ways in which to make their space feel individual from the next.
Although, these decisions aren’t entirely unique. They are based on specific conventions that are incorporated into the design of the suburb as an environment. There is an underlining system of control that when we unconsciously follow, it gets rewarded. The ways in which the residents cut their grass, decorate and personalise their outdoor spaces all contribute to the form of control within these areas.
This work is a collection of photographs from the suburbs in which may all appear the same. But it’s the smaller details within the photos that are overlooked on a daily basis as just being familiar and ordinary that are more controlled than they appear.
''Everything looks the same in that place, you keep going over the same ground, even though you're somewhere else.''
- Smoke, 1995.
