The objectification of people other than ourselves is still very common. We are often naturally driven to gauge ourselves versus others in our environment, and not just the opposite sex. Interestingly enough there are positive and negative connotations associated with objectifying others. Whether positive or negative depends on the two people involved. Personally the reasons that draw me to judge a person have a strong connection to my father. He was and still is to this day very outspoken about the people around him, mostly “attractive” female figures. My mother on the other hand was a proponent of not staring in public. Keeping to yourself.
It has been a struggle to try and pull away from the idea of being so judgmental. Each person that walks by, be it man, woman or child has to be looked at. Holding back the desire to stare at them and compartmentalize everything about them often causes small stints of anxiety. Alternatively the idea of doing this until death comes with its own set of issues. What happens when people find out what I’m doing? Do they think I am a creep? Sometimes I can look away and avoid eye contact, other times I’m not so lucky.
Each wooden box represents individual moments over the course of an evening. Traveling through the city with no destination. The boxes have a small slit running from top to bottom representing a doorway into another space. Although peeking through door cracks is usually associated with looking into a more private space I decided to reverse the roll of the door and apply it to the outside environment. Instead of looking in, you are actually looking out, which strips away the sense of security.
