© Jax Buytaert – The Killing Corner

Jax presents a version of suburbia that is at once attractive and disturbing. Jax’s photographs depict nighttime scenes and present a shadowy, empty suburban world full of implicit stories. Drawing from his own childhood memories of suburbia, Jax focuses on views that are anonymous in their uniformity. Seeking out scenes that can be found all over Belgium, at any time in the post-war era. Each photo tries to transform the seemingly mundane and invert the familiar. The fascination for the night is a common thread in his work. This translates into a game of contrasts: light versus dark, restless versus restful, city versus nature, the overcrowding of the day that turns into softness at night. Exploring themes of urban isolation and inner lives separated by outer appearances. The images subvert the traditional Belgian suburban fantasy and show the anxieties and alienation that suburbs have meanwhile embodied in popular culture. The compositions refer to the often awkward and lonely scenes of Edward Hopper’s paintings and reflect the interests of director David Lynch.