Boxed

Boxed was inspired by a TV news segment of a man in the Castro District of San Francisco who collected Barbie Dolls still in their original packaging. As he grandly gesticulated before his collection proudly showing off his covered walls, an image, albeit far darker, arose in my imagination. Lining my digital wall, a massive display of boxes stacked as if in “Toys R Us”, each box containing an human bodies, whole and pieces. In my vision I became the collector much more involved in the look of the collected artifact which might be, instead of a cultural stereotype as a Barbie, a psychological moment.

Many models with whom I work are highly tattooed, providing the visual interest of box after box of human contents. Many of these images were created after the primary shoot was completed as these photos were to be merged into a single image before whom stood a serial killer, the boxed contents there to support the “collector”.

As the number of images increased, I began adding “live” objects to show sorrow, hopelessness, pending death, etc. At that point, the single image was abandoned in favor of a series. But a series of people in boxes? Image upon image; some models enjoyed being in the box, contributing their own take in the confined space; they thrived, played with the box. Others did not know what to do, so they became still lifes. But, in the models’ own minds did they create a life of joy, sadness, fear, violence, compassion, hatred, love, solace, humor…? Did they control their life, merely succumb to peer pressure, or remain apathetic? Whatever their case, they were collected. And thus, each box contains a microcosm of the lifes we build for ourselves.
This series consists of  collected moments.

RLSFoto^® - Reidar Schopp Fine Art Photography, Los Angeles, California - Phone: 310-345-3764, Email: reidar@rlsfoto.com