On a descriptive level, "Spot-lit Stages of a Nocturnal Voyage" consists of photographs taken in different natural landscapes at night, scarcely illuminated by a six-volt battery-powered flashlight and the moon. The project started off as a quite simple, technical exploration that had to do with making pictures that would illustrate a failure of the medium of photography to represent what we see. According to Zaki, darkness was the most direct route to demonstrate the point at which photography could represent something other than the familiar and illuminated world in which we live. The project evolved into a journey to different landscapes that were transformed into stage-like sets through the very simple device of the flashlight. The light both illuminates the set and is a character within it.

In one sense, the photographs are very mystical and possibly terrifying; at the same time their fear-inspiring effect is thwarted by the inclusion of the light stand, which temporarily anchors the picture back in real space. Zaki states, "I am sincere in my attempt to transform these natural spaces into something foreign and awful (in the literal sense) through photography. But I am also equally interested in the imminent failure of such transformations. I think of this cycle as an emotional and intellectual struggle between the viewer and the work."

Amir Zaki is the second artist featured in the PROJECTS 2000 Series. Zaki is a graduate of the MFA program at UCLA. He is currently a visiting lecturer in the Art Department at UC Riverside. Exhibitions of Zaki's work have been held at the UCLA Wight Art Gallery, the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Purple Fine Art, the Sweeney Art Gallery at UC Riverside, and as part of the Los Angeles Culture Net's Neighborhood Views project on the WWW.