Lise Sarfati: Kelly, West Sunset Blvd, 2010

The focus of the series is the landscape of Los Angeles and the women who, after being trapped by the allure of Hollywood, now find themselves struggling with harsh realities. Lise Sarfati was inspired by French writer Guy Debord’s concept of “psycho-geographical wanderings.” Roaming the boulevards of Hollywood, Sarfati studied how geographical surroundings can impact the emotional behavior of individuals. Focusing on banal locations such as street corners, parking lots, and corner stores, Sarfati photographed women on the fringe of society. While working, she developed personal relationships with her subjects, which allowed her to capture their vulnerability.

We see Sarfarti's subject, Kelly, standing alone and isolated in a corner store; she evokes the canon of the anti-heroine. Sarfati captured this image using some of the last rolls of Kodachrome 64 color film, and its particular characteristics lend to Kelly the suggestion of 1940s-era Hollywood starlets. The Technicolor quality of the film contrasts the lackluster moment, heightening the tension between humdrum reality and old Hollywood glamour.

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