I often thought about this particular woman and others like her. I considered the many reasons people fall into the transient lifestyle. I decided to learn what it was like to be a visitor or resident in these motels. Starting in 1998 I began packing my camera along with my tripod in a bag and checked into various low-rent motels around Chicago. Once inside these small, musty rooms I began taking pictures of the space. The rooms were dated and often dirty. They were remarkably lonely and a bit scary.
I would often insert myself into the photograph and add movement. In some ways my presence in the photographs was a quiet performance piece. It was also a way of creating an anonymous figure and acknowledging the many nameless visitors who spent time in these rooms before me.
