Laidric Stevenson

Laidric Stevenson is a documentary analogue photographer who has exhibited in the United States, Japan, and Germany. Recent exhibitions include Ogawa Coffee Sakaimachi Nishiki in Kyoto, Decode Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, Studio 1608 in West Palm Beach, Florida, The Eclectika in Irving, Texas, The Blank Gallery in Tokyo, BBA Gallery in Berlin, Click! Photography Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis.

Some Nights I Can’t Sleep is the signature series and opus of Laidric Stevenson’s portfolio. In these dynamic works, he often captures severely dilapidated and aging infrastructure in working class neighborhoods. He uses photography as a form of searching for meaning. As Laidric goes out in the middle of the night to photograph the urban wasteland, he captures both urban blight and suburban nihilism. Although decrepit and derelict, these rickety pieces of infrastructure with their aging, glowing neon signs also depict a deep aesthetic and nostalgia for the past. These locations are not so much a reflection of reality but rather serve as relics towards elements of the past merging with contemporary environments and times. As Laidric Stevenson’s explores these dilapidated sites which appear similar to the post-apocalyptic wasteland via the Fallout video games, we will find hope in despair, meaning in emptiness.

The crisp, cool night air fills the photographer’s lungs. He can’t sleep. Laidric Stevenson adventures into the most remote urban areas where development has not reached. These working class environments express a sense of authenticity and connection to the past, often devoid in more developed areas. These infrastructure landscapes reveal an untold narrative. Who are the workers who toil at these aging businesses? Why do people shop at these places despite being so run-down and dilapidated? Is the service good? Does their reputation exceed their appearance? Behind the scenes of the grainy 35mm photography, we will find a misty atmosphere in the night air. A deeply cinematic quality emerges from these photographs as the light particles emanating off these neon glowing fluorescent sign lights enter the thick night sky in the sense of a sfumato.  Laidric Stevenson captures the sophistication and sensitivity within the lights embracing the darkness with mysterious composition and ominous granularity. 

Optica Clinic (pictured above) depicts a business so dilapidated, we cannot tell if they are shut down or still in operation. This photograph perfectly depicts urban blight with shattered signs and boarded-up windows amidst the dirty street. The sheer grit and realism of such a photograph is outstanding and incredible. 

If we take a deep dive into the analogue format photographs of Laidric Stevenson, we will find a world teeming with turmoil and despair, yet infinitely beautiful and mysterious. The enigmatic narrative revealed within the photography shows a world of urban blight and suburban decay. As the artist treks through this city-wasteland, he discovers hidden treasures, soft moments illuminated by the bright neon lights by aging signs. In the sheer bleak yet breathtaking darkness, a crisp of cold air enters our lungs and we become enchanted by the sensitive light particles emanating off these ransacked and rancid structures. The deep poetry in the works of Laidric Stevenson should be carefully studied in meditative mindfulness and investigative relaxation to embrace our surroundings as they are, rather than what we imagine them to be.

https://laidricstevenson.format.com