Uncanny Manor - Sally Vaughan

Visual Art/Photography

Through a non-traditional house tour, this photo series guides the audience through uncanny spaces, making the unfamiliar familiar.

sally images

Kitchen set with fur covering the walls, focusing on the leather table set with alcohol on the table and rotting food in the fridge and on the floor
Wide shot of kitchen set with fur covering the walls
Close up of the sink in the kitchen, there is green goo coming out of the sink and stuck in the fur that is covering the walls
Close up, low angle shot of a the desk and green wooden chairs of an office waiting room
Close up shot of the corner of an office waiting room, with the light from outside the room illuminating a tree in the window
Wide angle shot of the office waiting room, the lighting is low and blue as if it is nighttime
Close up shot of motel room bedside table with a bible and colorful lamp resting on it
Full shot of motel room with a stained floral bedspread and maroon and gold striped carpeting
Another full shot of motel room focusing on the popcorn ceiling and the peeling wallpaper revealing stained walls
lose up shot of the motel room carpet littered with fingernail clippings
An image of the wall of a restroom displaying two gold mirrors, one of them creating an infinity mirror with its reflection
A wide angle shot of the restroom revealing two toilets, a sink, and a tub right in the middle of the room
A close up shot inside of a child's playroom full of toys focusing on two drawings itched into a dresser
shot of the low angled ceiling of the playroom, focusing on a teddy bear in the corner and the scratches covering the top of the dresser
A zoomed out shot featuring the entire completed dollhouse, revealing the way in which the rooms all connect

Through a non-traditional house tour, this photo series guides the audience through uncanny spaces, making the unfamiliar familiar. This series features 6 unique rooms showing spaces that might lie deep in our subconscious, perhaps only visited to in distant memories or dreams. Taking you through a taxidermy kitchen, a waiting room, a motel room, a “public” restroom, and a child’s playroom, this project explores how the concept of the “uncanny valley”, a theory first introduced by Masahiro Mori to explain people’s reactions and emotions towards human-like robots, can be applied to rooms and spaces. Through intricate miniature models with detailed set design, “Uncanny Manor” shows how certain rooms that feel familiar but are slightly off can be deeply uncomfortable to inhabit.

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