Nicholas Gaffney

By taking the photographs in “How To Kill It,” I’m trying to re-create a sense I had when I was young of intense make-believe. This does not necessarily mean fun, but rather an attempt to evoke the potent feelings a child has when they’re absorbed in their own made-up world. The director Guillermo del Toro once described the emotions a child feels acting out their fantasy world as similar in intensity to an adult who is extremely religious, almost to the point that the real world becomes irrelevant. The objects I photograph should be recognizable as the cheap detritus found in toy stores and candy shops, the things that little boys love to play with and eat, but taken very seriously. The monster is out there, and to kill it, all I need to do is choose my weapon and lay my bait.