Artist Statement | John Manno Misbegotten Places

 

My art takes me into a world that at first sight appears to exist, but then reveals itself to deviate from reality and enter a world of fantasies. Façades, windows, doors and columns all appear as they might in a real world, but their ultimate construct is false. The architectural elements have been assembled and paired with objects in order to alter reality.

 

Misbegotten Places is a series of photographs that explores the idea of the imperfect and surreal. Through the use of dioramas constructed from my own photographs, I aim to create lifelike scenes that possess a sense of unease and uneasiness. These places, though familiar in appearance, are distorted and misbegotten, inviting the viewer to question their own perceptions of reality. The carefully crafted camera angles and lighting serve to heighten this sense of disorientation, drawing the viewer deeper into the imagined world of Misbegotten Places.