L.J. Ripley - Photographer

New York, USA

By making photographs I am concerned with the issues of how we perceive beauty within hostility and tension. Inspired by vaudeville, horror, and dreams—my work derives from motifs of impermanence, deterioration, mystery, and existentialism.

I strive to create a sense of dissolution by resisting linear storytelling in favor of fragmented, intuitive narratives. I compose my photographs with the intent of them feeling unresolved, inviting a viewer to complete them with their own subconscious. My work is not meant to document subculture, but rather explores the boundaries between reality and fiction, reflecting a world where serenity and chaos coexist. These images act as a visual diary that navigates myth and the elusive nature of freedom, using archetypal imagery to meld sacred iconography with symbols of decay.

My compulsive love for making images is deeply rooted in analog processes, primarily shooting medium format film and experimenting recently with 4x5. I view the process of working manually with film and alternative techniques, such as Van Dyke Brown, as a meditative process that values mutual trust, presence, and patience.