obfuscation strategy studies

While the series comprises of portraits exploring the possible shapes a human body can take and how these can be choreographed for representation, it is at the same time playing with the recognition of deformed human shapes. This experiment in deformation and its effects on recognition is inspired by the intentional obfuscation inherent to human relations and identities various levels of abstraction. In face-to-face relations, some people always act happy to hide their true emotions, or behave according to some kind of role to not tell anyone what they are really thinking about. While online, some people use ad-blockers, high privacy web browsers and fake social media accounts to avoid being detected by governments and corporations when surfing online. Special sunglasses are available for avoiding recognition by CCTV algorithms.  Attuned to these forms of obfuscation, I set out to look for a new aesthetic pertaining to deformation of human body. I chose a nude-coloured layer as second skin in order to keep the subject’s identity ambiguous in terms of ‘human’ versus ‘object’: simultaneously familiar and alienating. I wanted to test the limit after which the (re)representation of human body is no longer recognised, while simultaneously developing a minimal type of deformation necessary for bringing out new aesthetics from standard human shapes and postures. I placed the body inside a semi-transparent second skin, and inserted basic shapes made of styrofoam between the body and the second skin. The transparency of the second skin is important: I wanted to also show the objects under the skin, representing the true emotions, anxieties, worries, secrets, and other things we sometimes want to leave undetected for the sake of protecting ourselves, staying calm and carefree, but which nevertheless shine through.