My work explores identity through themes of metamorphosis and shapeshifting. I am intrigued by how people camouflage their true selves, morphing from one form to the next depending on external factors such as an environment or the company they keep. I expand upon this by investigating how mirrored behaviours and social masking are used as coping mechanisms. I made observations of how I respond in various social encounters, and how it end to script interactions to maintain a sense of control. This performative identity shields the shadowed parts of ourselves from the world. In this body of work, I use mirrors to fragment the viewer’s reflection. Each frame is organic and bodily, emphasising a dissolution of the self. Each mirror reveals a different part of the body, thus isolating and highlighting certain behaviours and gestures. The butterfly is a central motif in my work, as a symbol of mortality, cyclical patterns, and behaviours, as well as a literal iteration of the butterfly effect, where one small action can have much larger consequences. Through the use of a long shutter speed, I aim to capture multiple selves in motion; a body that contains all previous versions of the self, as well as all those yet to surface. My aim is to question the roles we perform, consciously and unconsciously. The mirrors act as portals, inviting the viewer to examine their own masks and what parts of themselves they may be hiding. By fragmenting the entire illusion, I aim to highlight these unconscious strategies used to suppress our shadows. In exposing these silent strategies, I intend to provoke reflection on the pressures of conformity, and why we feel it necessary to hide the darkest parts of ourselves.
