apartment therapy
Architect Peter Cook (1936-) notes in his work Primer: "There are unending parallels between the use of human cosmetics and the cultural development of the facade." As the title indicates, Apartment Therapy (2012 and Paris 2018), referencing an infamous interior designing website, draws a parallel between the body and architecture. In these works, gestures lead me as both a photographic subject and as a photographer who daily adopts ephemeral skins. With these performative self-portraits, I was primarily interested in the transgression of the face, how lighting, a paint job and some double-sided tape could create meaning through the addition of new incarnations. Presented as an un-retouched collection of allegorical IPhone selfies, this series also exposes how draping and re-purposed everyday materials could shift body proportions. Blurring historical figures with cultural and pop references, the series comprised of twenty-nine selfies, is cumulative. Every incarnation is marked by its predecessor and points ahead to new potential incarnations that revisit the rooms of the same apartment. At the time, this diary-like process was self-defining, an accurate documentation of my development and identity, while revealing innate personalities.
