For this exhibit, Collins drew on his photographic archive of “quiet moments”.
“‘In Dreams’ is a series of photographs that captures the fleeting nature of dreams and the moments suspended between sleep and waking,” he said.
“Each still is a fragment of a larger narrative. These photographs are open to interpretation and invite you to linger in the in-between.”
Credit: Matthew Collins
Credit: Matthew Collins
The photographs are of both interior and exterior environments and were taken in locations ranging from Dayton to London to Mexico. There are recognizable sites, including the columns of Pompeii and the tower of Big Ben.
The images with the most intrigue are the ambiguous locations that capture a moment — a 1970s living room with ghostly imprints on the shag carpeting, two red paddles nestled like lovers on a ping pong table, a hazy seaside cliff begging to be the location of a noir mystery. These photos get at the cinema-like quality that Collins references as inspiration.
Credit: Matthew Collins
Credit: Matthew Collins
“The show was originally going to be a series of images taken while shooting real estate over the last 12 years. My search then moved on to other images in my archive that I had always loved. I collected 13-20 images that had a quality I couldn’t quite put my finger on. They felt to me as if they were a still from a movie or a video. They felt like they had more to say.”
The show shares its title with a Roy Orbison song of loneliness and longing. Though Collins didn’t hear the song until after deciding the name of the show, several of his images are imbued with a similar sense of melancholy.
Collins said that each of his images is part of a larger narrative, though the form this story takes outside of the photographs is open to interpretation.
“I feel the story is for the viewer to continue, to maybe finish. The viewer can decide why they left the piano in that blue room and what type of couch sat there. I’ve always enjoyed photographing empty rooms and having the viewer wonder what happened there. I enjoy the ambiguity of it.”
MORE DETAILS
What: “In Dreams”, Photography by Matthew Collins
Where: Yellow Springs Arts Council, 111 Corry St., Yellow Springs
When: March 7-30, 2025. Hours are Thursday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. The artist will be present on Saturdays
More: matthew-collins.com
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