Faux Me


  • Photographer
    Sarah Crider
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Date of Photograph
    2012

Faux Me was a series created for my Senior Exhibition, dealing with social acceptance and behavior modification. Photographs were printed on fabric and sewn as dresses, then re-photographed in the scene shown. Psychology articles, fiction, films, and personal insight were used as research. The series was awarded Exhibition Honors at the show opening.

Story

We strive for anonymity and harmony; our enemies are abnormality and vulnerability. Masks are worn, only showing the appropriate version of ourselves at that given moment. Our demeanor changes depending on our environment, trying to look and act like the people around us. There seems to be a lack of confidence, not only in our appearances but in our beliefs and ideals. In a nation ruled by the media, we know all too well how quickly words can be twisted, how vehemently people are attacked for not keeping with today’s understood social code of what is acceptable. Faux Me is about becoming who you are expected to be in any given environment.

“Going through the motions” is a preferred alternative to being challenged, and it’s an alternative that I accept most willingly. It keeps people at an arm’s length, something that I would prefer anyway. I am happiest by myself, in my own head. I can see, feel, and understand without the constraint of words. It is an arduous task to mold my jumbled thoughts and feelings into concrete, coherent statements. Being real with people seems futile. How could they understand the complexities of what I am feeling, and more importantly, why should they care?

I become who I think I am expected to be. It is easier, safer, to move through life that way.

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