BlueFace
The history of the photos and the added playfulness force viewers to look more deeply at the nature of being and how we connect with each other. The uncomfortable moments and the laughter allow the viewer to fully empathize with the subject. From the time the photos were shot to today, people have been forced into uncomfortable social roles; they have struggled to fit into them and railed against them. In BlueFace, I hide the sitters' faces with blue paint so that I can anonymize them and simplify their expressions, thus preventing the viewer from fixating on their actual history. They are forced to rely on the handwritten, imagined thoughts for context. The viewer examines the formal, physical presentation adapted for a photograph and contemplates the hidden thoughts behind them as to reveal the wonders and difficulties of the human experience.
