Shadow Barn

White Lake, New York

Completed 2024

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The Shadow Barn is an exploration of light, shadow, and texture. The wood structure is rough sawn Hemlock from a local forest.  The structure was designed to have gaps between each wood board to allow light to stream into the interior projecting various patterns throughout the day.  The stone wall was quarried only 10 miles from the site and was conceived as a transition into the wood interior and to mask any views, allowing the space to be fully introspective.  The juxtaposition of rough sawn wood and stone is reminiscent of barns, and we were always fascinated as to why barns are red.  With some research, we learned that farmers mixed linseed oil with rust to make a more durable finish, so the color you see here was made in the same way, bringing a historic color to a modern design.   For photography, we have been using people in our images more and more to depict emotion and bring the space alive.  For this shoot, we wanted to experiment further and created a narrative of magical creature being born out of the light and shadow of the barn. That led to us designing and sewing the dress the model is wearing, combining architecture and fashion.  The black and white stripes of the dress are a direct reference to the light and shadow patterns of the interior of the barn.  The images depict the magical creature being born and leaving the nest to explore the world.