John Divola’s X-Files Photographs: The Truth Is in the Backlot
Photographer John Divola’s series X-Files (2002) captures the empty soundstages of the cult TV show, revealing the apparatus behind the paranormal. Divola, who had long sought to photograph miracle sites, pivoted to American mythology before gaining access to the Fox Studios lot in Los Angeles. The images, evacuated of actors and narrative, treat illusion and infrastructure with equal weight—crime-scene backdrops, Mulder’s deserted office, and a surprise: leftover sets from The Brady Bunch used in the show’s penultimate episode. Divola’s work insists on contact with the real, even as illusion becomes most seductive. The series appears in Aperture No. 263, “Secrets.”
Key facts
- John Divola photographed the empty sets of The X-Files in 2002.
- He gained access to Fox Studios soundstages between shoots.
- The series includes Mulder’s deserted subbasement office with pencils in the ceiling.
- Divola discovered leftover Brady Bunch sets used in the show’s penultimate episode.
- His earlier work includes Zuma (1977–78) and Continuity (1997).
- The X-Files ran from 1993 to 2002, with revival seasons in 2016 and 2018.
- A third revival is reportedly in development with Ryan Coogler.
- The article appears in Aperture No. 263, “Secrets.”
Entities
Artists
- John Divola
- David Duchovny
- Gillian Anderson
- Ryan Coogler
Institutions
- Fox Studios
- Aperture
- The New York Times
- MGM
Locations
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Calabasas
- Walden Pond
- Gettysburg
- Little Bighorn