Clint Woodside didn't consciously set out to start taking photos of covered cars. It was more of a happen-chance progression of being out taking photos while traveling and walking around his Southern California neighborhood. After stumbling across a white 70s model car, painted with a well-known Keith Haring pattern, Clint knew he could create a book around these hidden vehicles.
Clint's photos have taken form in a 32-page zine, a hardcover book published by Kill Your Idols, and now a photo show at These Days. Undercover Cars is Clint's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles and features a collection of the photographs from his recently published book of the same title. The work spans five years of shooting and represents a photographic study of covered cars that he's spotted along the way.
The photos undoubtedly surround "cars", but shed light on a deeper narrative of place and environment. In an excerpt form the essay in Clint's book, Mike Slack explains the pictures as more than just photos of cars.
"While the recurring subject of these pictures is “cars” the real subject remains hidden in plain sight: the intimate, everyday human narratives swirling around the cars. The photos are alive with endearing residential architecture and everyday human habitation/habit (well-worn apartments and houses, painted garage doors, oil-stained driveways), and the familiar flora of Southern California (looming, disheveled palms; massive weird shrubs; dense, dark ficus trees; unruly ivy)."
While Clint’s Undercover Cars trace his photographic obsession and his travels to a range of cities and towns, it's the everyday Southern California vibe that shines through the most.
UNDERCOVER CARS runs from SEPTEMBER 10 – OCTOBER 23, 2016 at THESE DAYS, with an opening reception on Saturday 10, 7-10 pm.
