“Portraits”
This projected installation is comprised of a series of portraits of urban residents, both men and women, who are marginalized and invisible to society as individuals except when painted by the broad brush of the media. The images are projected onto glass, making them light in weight and viewable from both sides.
Combining the format of classical portraiture (with an overt allusion to the Dutch Masters) and the dual headshot most commonly associated with police mugshots, the installation attempts to "put faces to" some of the individuals who reside in the most disputed neighbourhoods.
This work questions who is "worthy" of portraiture while transforming formerly nameless and faceless individuals, who are often passed off as mere addicts or criminals, into familiar faces that we know or recognize—much in the same way a face in advertising or the media becomes a familiar, even trusted part of our social identity.