After Hours in Montauk
It didn’t start out as a secret, but it just turned out that way. Things went down after hours in the closed bars and businesses of Montauk. Women taking over the places, wearing very little except for large animal heads.The idea took shape because, “There are body types of all shapes and sizes and we wanted to find a way to celebrate our friendship and let it be known that it is okay to celebrate what you have and have fun while doing it,” says Kristen Walles, who put the project dubbed “What’s Out There” together with photographer Audrey Amelie Rudolf.
So What’s Out There came by its absurdist slant honestly.
“The masks allow our friends to do something that they otherwise might not feel comfortable and it adds a visual that hopefully makes people think about ‘Why do these girls not feel good enough to do this with no masks in the first place?’” says Wales.
We wanted to find a way to let it be known that it is okay to celebrate what you have and have fun while doing it.
The photos and the unexpectedness of the situations force the viewer into a different relationship with the woman, and to address how they are being viewed. They also might shift how you look at the local haunts such as The Dock, The Surf Lodge, Montauk Brewing Co. where the woman pose and see the places too in a new, unfamiliar light.
The fruits of this work is now in limited-edition book form as What’s Out There: Montauk, getting a proper release party Saturday, June 22 at The Montauk Lighthouse Cafe, from 5–10 p.m. where the book and limited prints will be available. And if you are the sort of person who appreciates good photography and a nice coffee table book you should rsvp here.
