Over evolutionary time, the ability to quickly extract information from faces has given us an edge in predicting character and behavior. My concentration explores the identities of various individuals by challenging the viewer to create their own assumptions without viewing facial features. Facial features allow viewers to get a better grasp on a person's character, and without that, their thoughts, tendencies, aspirations, and even fears are unknown.
I began by shooting an image of a young girl and strategically only exposing her eyes to viewers. I wanted viewers to bring their own interpretation and questions regarding the subject’s identity. I began to completely shield important facial features in order to create a feeling of solitude. By forcing the backgrounds into complete darkness, the subject’s identity and location is left unknown. Images Five and eleven, specifically challenge viewers to question more than just the subject's identity, but rather by creating a feeling of wonder, the subject’s mood, goals, hopes and dreams, and who they are aside from their looks. It’s up to the viewer to decide if these people are happy with who they are, what message they are trying to convey, and how they want to be perceived. My sixth and seventh images convey just that, as viewers are left to decide on how to judge the character without such clues into their personality.
I began by shooting an image of a young girl and strategically only exposing her eyes to viewers. I wanted viewers to bring their own interpretation and questions regarding the subject’s identity. I began to completely shield important facial features in order to create a feeling of solitude. By forcing the backgrounds into complete darkness, the subject’s identity and location is left unknown. Images Five and eleven, specifically challenge viewers to question more than just the subject's identity, but rather by creating a feeling of wonder, the subject’s mood, goals, hopes and dreams, and who they are aside from their looks. It’s up to the viewer to decide if these people are happy with who they are, what message they are trying to convey, and how they want to be perceived. My sixth and seventh images convey just that, as viewers are left to decide on how to judge the character without such clues into their personality.