Silent Night: Christmas Lights & Empty Homes Photographed by Markus Henttonen.

In his photographic series, Silent Night, Finnish photographer Markus Henttonen documents suburban homes in LA lit with bright Christmas lights. Intrigued by the atmosphere of the city at Christmas time, Henttonen captures an eerie loneliness during a time of year usually defined by warmth, celebration and togetherness.

On the surface, the homes are bright – even glamorous – and suggest a sense of innocence with their naïve decoration and suburban aesthetic. However as the viewer moves through the images, the stillness becomes startling and a tension is realised within the environment and its absent inhabitants. Who lives there? Where are they? Together or alone, inside or outside?

Henttonen’s use of artificial light and de-saturation effectively add to the unfolding narrative. The photographs take on a hyper-real feeling, appearing more like architecture scale models than actual homes, and ultimately reveal a sense of the culture that lies behind these manicured scenes. Unnerving? A little. Unexpectedly mesmerising? Hell yes. It’s David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive meets Christmas, and we like it!

Related Post: Stories on Design // Empty & Abandoned Buildings.

[Images © Markus Henttonen.]