Flags & Debris
In collaboration with Doug Aitken & Los
Angeles Dance Project
Set against the empty, concrete canvas of Los Angeles, multidisciplinary artist Doug Aitken presents a new body of work addressing collective tension, isolation, and physical landscapes. Like many others, the COVID pandemic caused Aitken to look inwards and reflect on this time of profound change. Flags & Debris is the result of ten months’ philosophical introspection and creativity, resulting in a series of handmade wall hangings.
The artist cut up his clothes and found materials in his home to create layered collages consisting of words, sentences, and abstractions. Aitken took this project one step further and invited members of L.A. Dance Project—the prestigious dance company led by Benjamin Millepied—to perform in the fabric works for this film.
The art of capturing the art:
As far as contemporary artists go, Doug Aitken is in a very short list of those for whom I feel I am always waiting to see what he does next. I’ve photographed a number of Aitken’s pieces, along with many other photographers, but this opportunity was special as I was offered to come photograph the creation of this video project, exclusively. As it involved dance, I was uniquely positioned to capture it and given free reign to do so in whatever way I thought best.
The challenge was to find inventive photographic moments amidst an already highly-stylized and art directed environment. I leaned into my understanding of dance and tried to touch in on the parts of the movement that felt most honest, given the dramatic overtones of the set and costumes.
This shoot exemplified the conditions I find most generative: improvisational, collaborative, and open-ended. Conceived as an intersection of performance and image-making, the project centered on creating an art film, while holding equal space for still photography. What distinguishes this mode of working is the intentional cultivation of a shared creative space—one that resists authorship in favor of collective emergence.
There’s a particular intensity to days like this: a sustained pitch of creativity, less an event than an atmosphere—durational, ambient, and wholly absorbing.
