Mark Lyon

"Bay Views" looks to find a new American landscape, through the exploration of the 24 hour self-service car wash. The self-service car wash is rooted in the intimate pastime of hand washing one’s own car in the family driveway. The personal space of the driveway is now traded in for a commercial bay.

The images are desolate, but at times indicate recent human intervention. Construction materials, pooled water and splayed cleaning wands all suggest recent activity. Each space maintains a unique display of available color interactions explored though seasonal shifts, timing and repeated visits. These locations are illuminated by a balance of opposing artificial lights or the burgeoning natural light meeting vivid fluorescents.

Formally the images are consistently composed with a symmetrical mirroring of frame within frame (square within rectangle or rectangle within rectangle). There is also a critical push-pull of the figure and ground relationship between the two spaces (interior-exterior). Inspiration from the color interactions in Albers’ "Homage to the Square" series and the typologies of the Dusseldorf School are present and infused with nostalgia. Photographs in this series maintain the sentimental inclination inherent in this American pastime.

Wash n’ Vac, Harrington, DE

Scrub-a-Dub, Kingston, NY

Wash N’ Glo, Newburgh, NY

Dirty Harry’s, Virginia Beach, VA

Super Sudz, New Windsor, NY

Fort Knox, Port Jervis, NY

Community, Highland, NY

Pride, Cheriton, VA

The New Scrub Board, Stephentown, NY

Pleasant Valley, NY

Wash n’ Vac, Harrington, DE

Scrub-a-Dub, Kingston, NY

Wash N’ Glo, Newburgh, NY

Dirty Harry’s, Virginia Beach, VA

Super Sudz, New Windsor, NY

Fort Knox, Port Jervis, NY

Community, Highland, NY

Pride, Cheriton, VA

The New Scrub Board, Stephentown, NY

Pleasant Valley, NY