Inescapably, we spend a lot of time in bathrooms. Yet we hardly look at them, even though we have plenty of time to do so as nature takes its course.
In 2002, when I switched from film to digital and began carrying a small digital camera in my pocket at all times, I began to look seriously at bathrooms. Over the years it became a project, one of my ongoing series of pictures. (For others, including the two largest, Edible Complex and Vehicular, see my website, ericlevin.net.)
As with all my pictures, I photograph what intrigues and surprises me. I look for what I could not possibly anticipate but on some level immediately recognize as my own. I am not uncritical, hence the irony and (I hope) humor in these pictures, but I don't wag a finger. Since there is something of me in each picture, my way of seeing tends to embrace and accept rather
than disown.
In this I think the great master is Robert Adams, whose photographs and writing have influenced me greatly. My admiration for William Eggleston should be obvious to anyone who has seen his work, though I hope mine follows its own path. I am also indebted to John Gossage for the example of his work and his artistic stringency and for the time he generously spent with me. Other photographers whose work has especially informed and inspired my own include, of course, Walker Evans, as well as Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, Henry Wessel and Mitch Epstein.