Looook badges... ︎ ︎
A series of badges featuring a portrait of myself drawn by a portrait artist in Leicester Square, London. Before beginning, the artist showed me examples of his work depicting Pamela Anderson and Gwyneth Paltrow. The finished portrait presents an idealised version of me, bearing an unexpected resemblance to Gwyneth Paltrow.
The portrait is combined with captions appropriated from the makeover pages of Take a Break magazine, including “I can’t believe this is really me”, “I can’t stop looking in the mirror”, “I can’t get over the difference”, and “Wow, I feel like a real model!”
By pairing an idealised portrait with the language of magazine makeovers, the work explores aspiration, self-image and the promise of transformation.
