TWIN PALMS
satirical Photographs of Palm Springs
Twin Palms is a satirical series of 30 images shot
in Palm Springs, California by British photographer Matt Henry, and inspired by the shifts in gender relations of the late 1960s.
The project focuses on the fictional town of Twin Palms whose young female inhabitants have been gripped by a ‘mass hysteria’ that threatens the town’s suburban patriarchy. The series features ‘time-capsule’ interiors unchanged since the mid-century period, and uncovered by extensive research by the artist.
“Gender relations were evolving in this period, though you’d find few dominant, self-aware female characters of this sort represented in the male- dominated movie and television industries. It became interesting to me to transplant a more modern psyche back into this mid-century environment; to represent a spirit perhaps present but not yet fully realised. Gender relations and the notion of gender itself are sources of conflict that are a long way from resolved. It’s a positive thought to consider that the concept of gender will evolve to the point that one day we might look back in mockery in just the same way.”