Each morning, the rooms are reset. Beds are made, trash is emptied, and the personal clues left behind are thrown away. The room is returned to anonymity, ready for someone else to inhabit it. But it never resets completely. Dented walls, dust, scratches, stains, and worn carpet hold the traces of people who have passed through. Lives occupy these rooms cheaply and privately, sometimes for a night, sometimes much longer, and then disappear. I’m drawn to that space between the personal and impersonal. A motel room belongs briefly and intimately to someone, then almost immediately to no one.

Close-up of a red curtain with visible horizontal and vertical fabric lines.
A dark-colored book with a gold emblem and text on the cover, resting on a wooden table.
Wall-mounted lamp with a beige lampshade against a wooden wall with a white bed at the bottom.
An empty vintage metal bed frame with a tan finish in a room with worn wooden floors and a plain wall, partially covered by a towel or cloth.
Stack of folded white towels on a plain surface.
Two black electrical cords hanging on a beige wall with two electrical outlets.
Close-up of a yellow curtain hanging above a white radiator.
A box of Kleenex tissues with one tissue pulled out, sitting on a wooden surface against a textured yellowish wall.
Corner of a room with red carpet and textured wallpaper.
A yellow towel with a satin border hanging on a chrome rack.
A close-up photo of crumpled white bedsheets with soft shadows and subtle blue-purple lighting.
Toilet paper roll on a wall-mounted holder against green tiled wall.
Close-up of white vertical blinds partially pulled aside, with a beige wall visible in the background.
A bedroom with lime green walls, a white bed with two pillows, a framed floral painting, and a wall-mounted light fixture.
A vintage beige corded landline telephone with a keypad, resting on a wooden table next to a blue wall.
A rectangular white bar of soap on a marble surface.
A wooden round table illuminated by a single light source, featuring a tray with a thermos and two glasses, with a dark background and no visible people.
A bed with wrinkled white sheets and pillows, illuminated by a wall-mounted yellowish lamp on a plain beige wall.
Close-up of a quilt with a gold-colored fabric featuring a repeating black fleur-de-lis pattern.
Two empty wooden hangers hanging inside a closet.
Sunlight casting shadows of a window and a lamp on a bedroom wall with a bed and a standing lamp.
A vintage wooden dresser with a lace doily on top, positioned against a wood-paneled wall, next to a floral curtain and a small mirror reflecting a window.
A beige table lamp with a twisted ceramic base and a white pleated lampshade, placed on a surface near a window with patterned curtains.
Electrical cord plugged into a white power strip on a red carpeted floor next to a white wall.
Blurred view of a living room seen through a dusty window, with a television, a lamp, a wooden chair, and a decorated Christmas tree in the background.
A vintage beige rotary telephone on a pink cloth cover atop a small black nightstand against a wallpapered wall with a pattern of vintage-style framed illustrations of horses and carriages.
Close-up of a patchwork quilt with a red, gold, and brown floral pattern, slightly wrinkled.
Green keychain with a yellow key lying flat on a wooden surface
Interior of a room with a box spring on a bed frame, a brown upholstered chair, floral curtains, and a framed picture on wood-paneled wall.
A handwritten note on a white piece of paper placed on a wooden table.
Close-up of a textured surface with small scattered particles or debris on it.
A bed with a white sheet and a partially visible mattress, pushed against a wooden wall and a beige textured wall.
A beige wall with a mounted switch or control panel on the left side.
Yellow curtains hanging on a silver rod.
A small black microwave oven on a wooden shelf attached to a wood-paneled wall in a room with a floral quilted bedspread visible in the foreground.
A close-up photograph of a small, bright blue LED light on a yellowish surface, reflecting faintly below it.
Close-up of a yellow plastic garbage bag tied at the top, on a flat surface.
Close-up of textured frosted glass surface with a gradient of lighting.
A yellow electrical outlet with a cord wrapped around a wall hook hanging from it.
Close-up of a yellow-green tiled bathroom corner with a chrome towel bar attached to a yellow painted wall.
Brown curtains hanging with light visible behind them.
A bedroom with floral wallpaper and a bed with a pale green bedspread and a matching pillow.
Close-up of a screen displaying a pixelated portrait of a woman.
A remote control on a wooden surface with sunlight creating shadows on the wall.
Close-up of a window with wooden framing, a screen, and sunlight casting shadows.
Close-up of a bathroom wall with green tiles, a yellow electrical outlet with test and reset buttons, and a green ceramic footrest attached to the wall.
A close-up of a hanging string or cord with a small knot at the bottom, suspended from the ceiling.
Close-up of a foggy window with water droplets during evening or night, with city lights blurred in the background.
Interior view of a door with a yellow curtain, wood-paneled walls, a fire alarm, and a wall outlet.
Old rusted motel sign with a blue arrow shape and the word "MOTEL" in white neon letters, mounted on a rusty metal pole against a plain white sky.
Sunlight streams through windows, casting colored light onto an unmade bed in a room with paneled walls and two open doors, revealing a bathroom and closet.