“Concealer” is a series exploring the impact that the media and subsequent celebrity culture has on the individual woman today. In a society that is exposed to images on an almost hourly basis, we are constantly comparing and judging ourselves against a fake ideal.
We are encouraged to observe women that devote their lives to pursuing an image, a mirage of surface beauty. Women that have the professional help of a huge behind the scenes team also devoted to this one emblem of unattainable beauty. No amount of exercise, product or surgery is going to trump a digitally altered image.
With “Concealer” I attempt to address the issues surrounding photographic truth in the media sector. I decided to turn things around and give “ordinary” women an opportunity to have a flawless portrait. I first photographed women in the studio in the style of a Covergirl shoot. I proceeded to print the digitally altered portraits at face value and re-photographed the women in a normal social setting in their daily routine. By creating juxtaposition between reality and the mask of the media I explore the notion of the celebrity and the impossible aspirations we are encouraged to spend a fortune pursuing. These ethereal flawless faces conceal the person and true beauty beneath.