En Face
About
Many of these front-facing moving portraits are slowed to such a degree that they donʼt seem to be moving at all — or at least, not at first glance. Struck by the odd stasis of the image, a viewer might find themselves somewhat surprised to see an occasional blink forming slowly in time. Displayed as videos, these works are not always exhibited at large scale. When they are, however, they begin to reference advertising images seen in backlit displays (while at the same time elevating the anonymous sitter to the stature and visibility of a public figure). Larger scales also allow the portraits to be experienced as landscapes of a sort and with facial expressions changing like the weather — something felt as much as seen. These moving portraits subtly and slowly, reveal to us the ever-changing character of the sitters who are palpably infused with their particular sense of being. Some of the work’s effects are based in factual science: by giving the viewer unusual access to the rich texture of the micro-stages in between recognizable or discrete facial expressions, much can be read and discerned — and some of it is art.