In the Fall of 2013, I worked on a project titled "Conventions" for a class called Issues in Contemporary Photography. I wanted to take a look at how fashion, media trends, and convention play a role in influencing the different ways that women perceive/portray themselves. I asked 5 women of different ethnicities to apply makeup to half of their face and leave the other half completely untouched. After printing them, I cut each image into three equal parts using a window matte cutter. This created three sections: a “pretty” side, a “messy” side, and a middle piece which shows each half together. I then hinged them together in order to create the illusion that they were a 3-panel mirror. I also had each woman write about the different struggles they have been through in their lifetime in regards to physical appearance and qualities. I then edited these paragraphs down and presented them behind glass, hung directly under each woman’s picture. The following image is a digital representation of the 4x5 negative and positive of one of the women and her accompanying paragraph.

Format: 4x5

Size: 11"x14"

“Social media, fashion shows, and magazines are always trying to get into my life and make me believe that if I don’t dress in a certain way, I won’t be successful in life. When I see celebrities on TV, it makes me sad because my body doesn’t look as good as Jenifer Aniston’s, or my make-up is not as flawless as Jessica Alba’s. While in Lithuania, you either dress nicely every day, or you would be considered weird because there, gym shorts are for gym, not for groceries. Sometimes, it just feels like it is too much work to look nice. The other thing I have been struggling through past years is the color of my skin. I honestly don’t know why, but maybe it is because I want what I can’t have and in this case, I want to be darker. I think because of the color, it makes me look like I am always exhausted, tired, or drunk. It took me a long time to start feeling good about the way I look. I just don’t allow imperfect features of my body or face affect my life and the way I look at myself in the mirror anymore.” [sic]