“I’m convinced we all are voyeurs. It’s part of the detective thing. We want to know secrets and we want to know what goes on behind those windows. And not in a way that we would use to hurt anyone. There’s an entertainment value to it, but at the same time we want to know: What do humans do? Do they do the same things as I do? It’s a gaining of some sort of knowledge, I think.” – David Lynch
Scott Rinckenberger, acclaimed photographer and adventurer, will present a special pop-up exhibition during the Real Twin Peaks Weekend. Join them for the opening night party, Friday 02/21 from 5–9 PM, featuring damn fine coffee, cherry pie, neatly stacked donuts, and more.
From an east-facing office window on the second floor of the historic Sunset Garage building at the corner of North Bend Way and Bendigo Boulevard in downtown North Bend, Washington, two features dominate the view. To the left is the towering form of Mount Si, a peak that is as much a character as it is a geographic feature of this town.
Right across the street, lighting up dark rainy evenings with the unmistakable glow of red and blue neon is a small-town diner with an outsized reputation. Known locally as Twede’s Cafe, this diner is better known to the world as the Double R Diner, one of the anchor locations of the Twin Peaks television series and a mini mecca for the devoted Twin Peaks fan.
At first amused, then fascinated, and finally, inspired, I decided to keep a camera loaded with film, and to stay alert for any strange or amusing happenings in front of the Double R. Seven years of diligent study have resulted in a collection of work that feels both off the cuff, and deeply revealing as a Venn diagram built itself from such disparate elements as vanity, fandom, fashion, addiction, pilgrimage, love and gymnastics.
I could have kept noodling on this project indefinitely, in fact, I probably will to some extent. But in order to share this work, which is such a vast departure from my standard fare, I needed a catalyst. The passing of David Lynch on January 16, 2025, was just that. On one hand, his passing served as a deadline of sorts for a project that hovered for years in the ether. If not now, when?
More importantly, though – thinking about David Lynch, his work, and his artistic approach gave me a sort of permission to show work that might feel off-brand, weird, fringe or even confusing. What better time to let one’s freak flag fly than when honoring the legacy of an artist who refused to be defined by convention, who was more than happy to follow the muse wherever he saw fit to lead, and who felt no compulsion to justify or explain his flights of creative fancy.
“There’s a comfort when you realize your ideas are realized. You’ve worked so that all the elements are working together, and it feels complete and correct, and you say it’s done. Then it goes out into the world, but it doesn’t need any more explanation. It is what it is.”-David Lynch
With gratitude to Mr. Lynch for showing the way, I give you Twin Peeks. It is what it is. – Scott Rinckenberger
Pop-up Gallery Show
The Scott Rinckenberger Gallery will be showing a very limited exhibition for the Real Twin Peaks Weekend, February 21-24, featuring photographs from Scott’s ongoing project, Twin Peeks. This body of work, created over seven years, is a study and celebration of the eccentricities of the Twin Peaks community as witnessed from the second-floor window of his studio, which is fortuitously situated just across the street from the famous Double R Diner of Twin Peaks fame. Using black and white film photography and a cold-war era zoom lens, this work harkens to the gritty imperfections of David Lynch’s heyday, creating a timeless capture of human nature at its most beguiling.
Book Release
In support of the gallery exhibition, Scott Rinckenberger will release a limited-edition softcover photography book featuring select images from the Twin Peeks project. This 120-page 8×8” book will delight Twin Peaks fans, photography enthusiasts and students of the human condition with its mix of humor, charm and mystery, augmented with quotations from the late Twin Peaks director, David Lynch. Signed copies will be available at the gallery and are available for pre-order online here.
