The Live Creature and Ethereal Things
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The Live Creature and Ethereal Things is a series of images exploring the desire to be noticed. Inspired by the feeling of being on display that I experienced after a move to a small suburban community, the images explore the emotional and physical ways in which people present themselves, and their environment, to the camera when they know they are going to be on view. Through the images I seek a greater understanding of the complex relationship that exists between our projected image, the person we desire to be and the reality of who we are.
Stylistically, the images are inspired by European society portraits, which like the modern facebook page, present an idealized version of the individual and convey a sense of the sitter as part of a tableau created to be examined. There exists simultaneously the person that we are and the person we want to be, our self-presentation often dealing more with aspirations than reality. Each subject is allowed to dress in any way they would like and choose a setting they feel comfortable in, but the final image is a negotiation between my vision of the individual and the image of themselves they are working to project. At the end of the photo session, I give each subject the opportunity to write down a dream, although they are not required to do so. The dream statements allow for a parallel declaration to be made solely by the subjects, in the form of words rather than through their image. The meaning of “dream” is left up to the subjects to determine.
The Live Creature and Ethereal Things is a series of images exploring the desire to be noticed. Inspired by the feeling of being on display that I experienced after a move to a small suburban community, the images explore the emotional and physical ways in which people present themselves, and their environment, to the camera when they know they are going to be on view. Through the images I seek a greater understanding of the complex relationship that exists between our projected image, the person we desire to be and the reality of who we are.
Stylistically, the images are inspired by European society portraits, which like the modern facebook page, present an idealized version of the individual and convey a sense of the sitter as part of a tableau created to be examined. There exists simultaneously the person that we are and the person we want to be, our self-presentation often dealing more with aspirations than reality. Each subject is allowed to dress in any way they would like and choose a setting they feel comfortable in, but the final image is a negotiation between my vision of the individual and the image of themselves they are working to project. At the end of the photo session, I give each subject the opportunity to write down a dream, although they are not required to do so. The dream statements allow for a parallel declaration to be made solely by the subjects, in the form of words rather than through their image. The meaning of “dream” is left up to the subjects to determine.
