Suspect Profiles
In a culture of fear, everyone is suspicious, and everyone is suspect. Who do you suspect? Who suspects you? The ongoing portrait series Suspect Profiles exploits our societal tendency to slot people into categories based upon physical appearance. In these stark oil-on-panel paintings I pose neighbourhood volunteers against a measured backdrop to simulate police mug shots. Set against a backdrop of suspicion, people seldom fail to look suspicious. Confronted with a line-up of suspects, the viewers of the paintings are led by the familiar conventions of the context to choose the most dubious character, based on their own perceptions and preconceptions. |
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