Back alleys are transitional spaces. They are not part of the street, but not exactly private either. Not supposed to be used as passage, but usually not closed off to the public. They are viewed as ugly, dangerous places, associated with the dirty and the illegal. The gaps nested between the safety of buildings and the visibility of the streets. Back alleys are the kind of place that the street walker tends to avert their eyes from, and that's the first reason for me to want to photograph them. I chose to photograph at eye level, as the simple act of stopping to look at these spaces is already a departure from the usual. In post-production I gave the images a slight green hue, to emphasize their otherworldly atmosphere.
Inspired by the crime scene photography of Weegee, and William Eggleston and his eye for the empty spaces among the streets, I was drawn to these narrow, dark spaces. This element of darkness and wrongness is evident even from the name given to these spaces: there are no "front alleys", every alley is a back alley, but there is a need to emphasize that these are the "back" spaces, spaces to stay hidden, to not be looked at. But if you look at them, you will find a multitude of hints about the spaces around. Power boxes, surveillance cameras, pipes, vents, trash cans, back lights, back doors, and the ever subtle mystery of what lies beyond.
The objects left in back alleys also tell stories, or glimpses of stories. Bicycles and other objects tell us that the people living in the buildings around don't really fear that the darkness will attract thieves. The windows make one wonder how it must be to have that space as the view of a room. A fire escape may have been used for sneaking around, or just for taking a shortcut when leaving home. I photographed these places in late Fall, itself a time of transition. The ice left on the ground in a place where no one is supposed to walk, the steam coming from heating systems, all subtle hints that help tell the story of a point in space and time.
The back alley can also be a place to hide, not only for the criminal and the misfit, but also for someone who just wants to look at the street from a different angle. A place to stay unnoticed while waiting for the "decisive moment" of Cartier-Bresson. They are public windows, accidental framing devices built into the streets. The often half-finished, uneven pavement is a fertile ground for water puddles, a classic element of noir aesthetics, and a very practical help in getting better light when shooting at night.
