Project Statement: “(in)Securities”

Often, art is just as much of a coping mechanism as it is a means of expression. (in)Securities is a body of work emerging from a period of personal and artistic stagnation, much of which stemmed from a fear of putting myself into (what I perceive as) uncomfortable situations.  In my work there is nothing more discomforting than photographing people. Five semesters of immersion in urban landscape photography came to an end when I was offered a challenge by my professors to confront that anxiety.  These images represent my response to that challenge.

It was evident that the only way for me to work through this anxiety was by working to mirror it through the photographs themselves.  My primary goal was driven therefore by the desire to create a sense of tension with each subject. Though it started with friends that I knew well, it soon expanded to casual acquaintances, and then complete strangers as I asked each to come into my home and disrobe in a dark room. It was important to me to be able to do this in my home rather than a studio space as it offered me confidence and security to to be able to work at home. This however, was not always true for the subject.

I intensified the disquieting effect by using a variety of colored bulbs, and a wide angle lens which brought me within a short couple of inches from the subject’s face. Not only was it distressing for me to place myself so close within someone else’s personal space, but the subjects were suddenly taken off guard and often, visibly uncomfortable, by being in such close proximity while in a vulnerable state. 32 of these portraits were taken over the course of five weeks. On display are not only my own insecurities, but the perhaps the subjects’ as well. I believe that the natural effect of these circumstances is evident in each portrait.