Photography by Matthew Scott

The following images are taken from an ongoing project, titled Observing: Venice, by photographer Matthew Scott. Venice Beach is, of course, one of a handful of mythic places in America – Haight Street, Coney Island, Times Square, Las Vegas, Hollywood – where the American experience has historically played out in larger-than-life and non-traditional ways. These have always been the magnets of America’s misfits, marginals, and “freaks”, places  of transience where anything could happen and something always does. Since moving to Venice, Scott has been observing his new, if temporary, home and its inhabitants. Or, as he puts it, “I’m trying to figure out my life and theirs.” What is revealed is an aspect of Venice’s eccentric myth, but only around the edges. More central is a peaceful quietness, a comforting, if banal, normalcy. Instead of training his lens on the boardwalk, he focuses on ordinary people living ordinary lives.