Méconnaissance (2009-2011)
In this series, I create a framework within which my subjects can express themselves by giving them control of core elements that comprise each image. Through this collaboration, I make portraits that are intended to fulfill something for each participant, acting as a reflection of his or her own self-projection.
I ask each person whom I photograph to choose an object with which they identify and to hold it in some way that obscures their face. This tactic directs the viewer’s attention away from conventional interpretations of portraiture and towards alternate means of contemplating identity. Instead of looking to the face, eyes, or expression of the subject, the viewer must look to the object, the way it is held, and other details in the image to gather visual understanding of whom this person is. The resulting images force one to question whether or not the complex interiors that make up each of us as individuals can be condensed into a single image.
The project title Méconnaissance is a borrowed term from Lacan, which refers to the false recognition that takes place during ego development in the mirror stage. For Lacan, self-knowledge is synonymous with misunderstanding. In the mirror stage, when an infant first recognizes an image of him or herself in the mirror, misrecognition, or “méconnaissance,” takes place. The ego is mistaken as an autonomous complete self, when in fact its existence depends on others and the outside world.