| LIFE -SIZE I am fascinated by the fact that almost anything—from sunglasses and cameras to hypodermic needles and condoms—can be found in miniature. I'm equally intrigued by the desire to collect such tiny replicas of objects from our own material world. As a smaller scale surrogate of the original, the miniature seems to imply the existence of some kind of alternative universe where we—as larger bodies—are like gods, omnipotent and in control. For this series I photograph my friends and family interacting with miniature objects as if they are functioning, workable tools or possessions. In the darkroom I enlarge the 35mm color negative so that the previously small objects appear to approximate "normal" or "'life-size" scale in the final photograph. Here, gigantic adult figures invade a claustrophobic world of Lilliputian sunglasses, guns and keys, awkwardly attempting to make these under-sized objects function as if they were actual working possessions. This intersection of scales disturbs the imagined perfection of a mini-sized fantasy world. As viewers, we must rethink our point of view as our sense of natural order is called into question. Humorous and absurd narratives unfold in the process of reconciling and interpreting the relationships between large and small, adult and child, work and play, reality and illusion. These photographs draw attention to how we see. They ask the viewer to look beyond the surface and confront the betrayal of appearances. By making images that challenge our expectations, I'm exploring how photographs can be used to manipulate our perceptual experience and, as a result, shape our understanding of the world around us. |