Brad Moore’s portraits of suburban California seem to capture the shrubbery creeping up on its post-war architecture.

The symmetrical composition of these buildings within the frame of the photograph provide a perfect formal background, in front of which the bushes are caught getting up to their naughty business. In others, Moore applies the same voyeuristic approach to the plants alone – through his editing he prunes them into beautiful topiary abstracts.

 

“The following photographs were shot in modest, well-worn, suburban cities in central and inland Southern California. Built in the 1950s and 60s, these cities provided a new home and future to a post-war population. This is where I grew up and, after 25 years, I returned. The areas I remembered were fading away, and I was struck by the simultaneous growth and decline. Initially, it was the buildings that interested me; I shot them in formal, almost symmetrical compositions. Then I began shooting the surrounding shrubbery with the same architectural approach. I liked the way the buildings and plants worked together, so that is how the project evolved. I have opted to avoid traditional, documentary-style photography; instead I have photographed in primarily static compositions, reflecting change, irony and evolution.”

Brad Moore is a photographer currently residing in Laguna Beach, CA. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena in 1981.

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