Although Xavier Nuez drew and painted as a young child, he didn’t realize the pull art had for him until he enrolled in a photography class in university. Describing his own art as “theatrical,” the urban subjects of his photographs are like no other. Nuez transforms “miserable” locations into places of mystery and inspirational imagery.

Interestingly, Nuez only shoots at night, forcing him to stand against the “insanely dangerous places in Detroit, Compton, and Brooklyn.” Nuez finds these situations most rewarding, as he is “trying to dig deeper and stir up the past.” It is the viewer’s place to imagine the stories of the street corners he portrays.