The disquiet of modern life is perfectly captured by the American photographer Alex Prager. His boldness is described in these photos. Don’t miss this article because it will amaze you.

All photographs: Alex Prager Studio/Lehmann Maupin Gallery. Alex Prager: Silver Lake Drive is at the Photographers’ Gallery, London, 15 June-14 October

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The Big Valley, Susie and Friends, 2008

Alex Prager, the subject of a major mid-career survey this month and a new monograph published by Thames and Hudson, is known for her boldly lit take on the disquiet of modern life.

Crowd #3 (Pelican Beach), 2013

The American artist’s work encompasses fashion, photography and film with characteristically vivid colour and unsettling theatricality

The Big Valley: Eve, 2008

Prager’s eye for filmic detail and salient storylines sees her taking inspiration from film history to make stills of her own

Culver City, 2014

The photographer works like a director, casting actors to follow scripts she has written, and using sets she builds, machines for lighting and weather and lifting

Crowd #5 (Washington Square West), 2013

While the scenes are fabricated, the characters Prager shoots are often played by people on the street whose style and look have caught her eye

Polyester Julie, 2007

‘Her work is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch, her glamorous noir-esque heroines dying horrible deaths by drowning, falling out of windows or suffering excruciating loneliness,’ according to Alexandra Spring in the Guardian

Polyester Ellen, 2007

Prager was inspired to become a photographer in her early 20s, after seeing an exhibition of work by master of color photography William Eggleston

The Big Valley: Desiree, 2008

On her use of saturated color, Prager has said it adds ‘this strange lie on top of the truth that I thought was just a little creepier and more interesting to work with’

Hazelwood #2 (After Steven Siegel), 2014

‘When it’s over the top with saturation and blue skies and bright red lips, over-the-top Kodachrome,’ says Prager, ‘it plays into our nostalgia and our familiarity … It’s always that thing that throws you off balance’