Artist's Statement

Fred Zafran

How immutable are our perceptions of the world around us?

The boundaries between certainty and illusion seem increasingly fragile as I wonder at our inclination to conjure up the stories of our lives. We are authors of our own fables and legends, and photography has become an artful device for illuminating these inner narratives.

And so it was, the daily trip by metro rail to Washington DC. What is often a mundane commute has been transformed and reimagined in this photographic essay. 



I see them every day. 



The travelers, descending from the sunlight to the subterranean world of the metro. Although crowded with commuters, the metro is a realm of shadow and solitude. 



I watch them every day.



The travelers, crossing a boundary of darkness, waiting, suspended in transit between here and some unspoken destination.



I imagine the River Styx, and ferryman Charon transporting souls who upon reaching their destination, gratefully and hurriedly return to the surface and the light of day.