In this photograph, a female figure in a green suit plummets through a clear blue sky. The plane soaring high overhead provokes our questions: did she jump? Was she pushed? What happens next? The figure’s sense of motion and the flare of sunlight on the upper left make it feel like the image came from a film, though there’s no actual Hollywood movie to which this photograph corresponds.

The artist’s use of the visual language of movies comes from her background: Alex Prager was born and raised in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz, just a few minutes away from the Hollywood sign. Largely self-taught, Prager uses the slick style and narrative drama of Hollywood in her photographs to question its seductiveness.

“I find my inspiration in the city of Los Angeles. It’s a strange picture of perfection—but there is an eerie monotony that creeps in. It can slowly drive a person crazy, that sense of unease under the surface of all this beauty and promise.” – Alex Prager