Photographer Dave Jordano was invited to come to Cleveland in the summer of 2019 to explore the city. Born in Detroit and now living in Chicago, Jordano has had a long interest in the places and people of the urban industrial cities of the Midwest. The work that Jordano created in Cleveland is a continuation of a theme he explored in his 2018 book, A Detroit Nocturne, which explores the nighttime cityscapes of Detroit’s vernacular architecture and reveals the marks of its trials and determination of its people. The 14 haunting new images of Cleveland in (Human) Landscapes are sparsely populated and yet full of implied life and untold stories. The mix of artificial lighting gives these modest storefronts, houses, and industrial landscapes a theatrical majesty and mystery. What is the history of these darkened walls, and who lives behind the lighted windows? (Human) Landscapes is an appreciation of the noir beauty of a gritty postindustrial cityscape that is fast disappearing.

This exhibition was organized by Transformer Station with support in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.